


The Devil You Know

by MamaBear7319



Series: The Happier, Friendlier Timeline (2014) [22]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: 2014 timeline, Gen, Irondad, spiderson
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:27:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 38,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27557602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MamaBear7319/pseuds/MamaBear7319
Summary: Picks up after Peter and MJ’s trip to Africa and after the events Fireworks.  Before his disappearance, Ross had stirred up enough fear against mutants that the movement continued to grow without his leadership.  Peter heads back for his second year at MIT with the rest of his team with strict instructions not to use their abilities.  Unfortunately, too many things get in the way of that.~~~~Do you need to read the previous stories?  Probably.  This series takes place in the 2014 timeline that was created when Thanos time traveled in EndGame.  Which means no Infinity War and no EndGame.  The series started as a “what happened after Homecoming...surely Peter and Tony saw each other because they were too comfortable around each other in Infinity War”.  It got a little out of control after that.  Peter is currently in college at MIT.
Series: The Happier, Friendlier Timeline (2014) [22]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1934734
Comments: 50
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

“Ned, what do you mean you’re not going back to Cal Tech?” Peter held the phone with his shoulder as he folded t-shirts to put in his duffel bag. He should have packed yesterday like Pepper suggested but he didn’t. Now, he was rushing. Bobby and Davis were going to be here shortly and then they were driving back to Boston. Wyatt and Johnny had headed back yesterday, fall semester starting in a few days.

“Mom said no.” Ned sighed into the phone.

“That’s ridiculous.” Peter pulled the phone away and hit speaker, placing it on the dresser so he could use both hands. “What does she expect you to do?”

“Go to Columbia. Or NYU.” Ned threw himself in the chair in his room. “NYU’s computer programs aren’t bad.”

Peter frowned. “Come to MIT with me. You got accepted before.” Even if MIT wouldn’t honor Ned’s acceptance last year he knew his dad could pull some strings. Normally he hated it when his dad tried to use his influence to help, but in this case it was worth it.

“I tried that too. She doesn’t want me to leave the city. Just getting her to agree to let me go somewhere like NYU was a monumental task.” 

Peter frowned. “Ned...”

Ned signed again. “I’ve got an interview tomorrow with a computer tech company. My plan is between school and work to just never be at home.”

Peter stopped packing. “What can I do to help?”

“Nothing.” Ned perked up slightly. “On the plus side Betty is at Columbia. I ran into her yesterday. If the warden will let me out, we’re going to go to the movies Friday.”

Peter sighed. “This sucks.” He didn’t understand Mrs. Leed’s reaction at all, although looking back on how she had been all summer he should have expected it. She was so freaked out about what had happened to Ned in California, every time Peter had gone to hang out with Ned it had taken a series of 20 questions and a promise that Iron Man was in the city for her to allow Ned out of the apartment. “Look, I have to come back to New York in two weeks for some SI thing. I’ll come by and break you out. Let me know how the interview goes.” He glanced over as a blue portal opened in the corner of his bedroom. “Unless you want me to just come kidnap you now? I have backup.” He grinned at Davis and Bobby as the portal closed behind them.

“The fact that I’m seriously considering it should tell you something...”

Peter frowned at the phone. “Ned...”

“Text me when you get to Boston. I’ll talk to you later.”

Bobby watched Peter throw t-shirts into his duffel bag. “Ned back in California yet?”

Peter shook his head as he pulled open dresser drawers to see what he had missed. “His mom won’t let him. He’s staying here and going to NYU.”

“Wow. You said she had over reacted about everything in California but that’s really over the top.” Davis sat down on Peter’s bed. “How are you not packet yet?”

Peter shrugged and threw socks into the duffel bag. “I just kept putting it off.” Giving a final look around his room he zipped up his bag and threw it over his shoulder. 

“Is Tony here?” Bobby asked as he followed Peter out of his room.

Peter gave him a look that said ‘of course he is’ as they walked into the living room. Pepper and Morgan had driven up to the lake house yesterday. Morgan wasn't happy that she wouldn’t have her brother at her disposal so Pepper thought it might be easier for everyone if she wasn’t there when Peter headed back to MIT. 

Tony looked up from the Stark pad. There were a couple projects he and Peter had been working on since they had gotten back from Africa. Some of it for SI, some of it not so much and he was about to lose his lab partner for the foreseeable future. “Are you boys ready to head out?”

Bobby slid past Peter. “Yes, but I want to show you something first.” He glanced over at Davis. He had already shown Davis and Professor X but that was it.

Peter put his bag down and stood next to his dad as Bobby held his hand out. He watched as Bobby’s hand changed into ice and then slowly turned to vapor before quickly turning back into ice. “Wow. When did that happen?”

Bobby shrugged. “I started playing around with it this summer and it kind of happened by accident.”

“How long can you hold it?” Tony thought through what he knew about Bobby’s abilities. It made a certain amount of sense that he could vaporize part of his body but it was still mind blowing to see. It meant that Bobby’s mental control was growing stronger but that it was also contained on a molecular level. The implications were astonishing.

“Just a couple seconds. I start freaking out when I see it and it solidifies back into ice.”

Tony nodded. “Ok. Play around with it some but don’t go full vapor unless you’re in a controlled environment. What did Charles say?”

“Pretty much the same thing and to show you to see what you think.” Bobby glanced over at Peter. “He’s not sure if my abilities are growing or changing.”

Tony frowned. “But you’re able to control it and you haven’t had a problem solidifying, right? And it’s not doing it on its own?”

“Yes and yes, but I think that’s what the Professor is worried about...that I’ll vaporize when I don’t mean to.” 

“If that happens - even a little, get Davis to portal you here, the compound, or the mansion immediately.” Tony looked over at Peter. “I don’t think I need to remind you all of the need to keep any abilities under wraps. Even with Ross gone, the seeds of the anti-mutant movement haven’t disappeared. If anything they’re growing.” Tony frowned. He was wished he could have convinced them all to skip a semester. He knew Charles and Sue felt the same. His only consolation was the fact that maybe being removed from himself and Charles would further insulate them. He knew it wouldn’t be long before he and Charles would be in front of a senate sub-committee discussing how “mutants” should be handled. The definition of mutant in and of itself was being widely discussed in the public sphere. Steve had even been pulled into the mix in a discussion whether enhanced individuals fell in the same category. It was headed to the level of the accords but thankfully as of right now they were a unified front.

“Dad, we know. I won’t go out as Spider-Man and none of us will chance using our powers.” Peter grabbed his keys off the counter and turned to look at his dad. “I promise.”

Tony looked at his son. “Ok. Call me when you get there.”

Peter hugged his dad. “How about I text you when I get there and I’ll call you tonight. That way I can talk to Morgan too.”

Tony let out an aggravated sigh. “Fine. All of you be careful.”

XXXXXXXXXX

Peter pulled into the driveway of the Boston house. A familiar car was parked in the driveway in front of where Johnny normally parked in the garage. “What’s Kitty doing here?”

Davis shrugged as he pulled his duffle bag out of the trunk. “Beats me. I haven’t seen her since yesterday.” 

Peter pushed open the door that led into the house. Kitty was perched on one of the bar stools watching Wyatt make hamburger patties. “Kitty, didn’t expect you to be here?”

“Hello to you too.” Kitty smirked at Peter. “I drove Amanda down. We’re leaving after dinner.”

Peter leaned over the counter and looked at Wyatt’s progress on dinner. “So the fire duo are back on again?”

Kitty shrugged. “I think it changes hourly. They’re giving Wyatt and Jen a run for the award of most dysfunctional relationship.”

Wyatt finished the last burger patty and turned to wash his hands. “I’ll have you know that Jen and I are currently sitting at the longest stretch we’ve had of not breaking up.”

Kitty rolled her eyes and glanced over at Bobby as he slid into the stool next to her. “I’m starting to think when you do the things we do, dysfunctional relationships are just part of it - Peter and MJ excluded.”

Peter shrugged. “We have our moments. And, don’t tell dad but I think occasionally seeing a therapist helps.” His team knew about the therapist but he could tell by the look on Kitty’s face she hadn’t. “He made me go after a couple Spider-Man related things in high school.” His team knew the reason he had seen a therapist was because of everything that had happened around he time of the mess with Osborn but that wasn’t necessarily common knowledge among everyone else.

“Hey Kitty, I’ve got a mutant question for you.” Bobby turned in his seat to look at her. “When you fully phase through something can you still think and feel yourself even though you’re not there?” They had talked about his vapor abilities on the way down and Peter had suggested asking Kitty about hers, even though they weren’t completely the same. Bobby’s biggest fear was that he wouldn’t be able to control it if he was fully vapor.

Kitty frowned and thought about what Bobby was asking. “I think so but I do it so quickly I’ve never really paid attention. Why?” She studied Bobby’s face. There had to be a reason he was asking.

Bobby held his hand up and let it vaporize. He grinned when Wyatt let out a ‘Whoa’. “It’s new. Every time I do it I feel less panicked about it but I haven’t worked up the nerve to go further than just my hand. I’m not sure what would happen to my control of it if I went fully vapor.”

“That’s pretty cool. I’m assuming Professor X said don’t do it unless you were in a controlled environment, right?” 

Bobby nodded at Kitty. “Tony too.” He glanced over at the stairs as Johnny and Amanda stepped off of the last step and into the main living area. 

“Are you all talking about the anti-mutant crap?” Johnny asked as he stepped off the last stair. He frowned when he got shakes of the head. “You didn’t see the news?” He walked over to the table and picked up the remote, turning the TV on and flipping it to a news channel.

They all watched as a swat team surrounded an abandoned house. Johnny crossed his arms and looked at the group. “Supposedly there’s a couple mutants holed up in there. When the reporter was talking about it earlier it sounded like they’ve been running for a while. 

Peter glanced away from the TV and over to Johnny. He knew how it was affecting him so he wasn’t surprised to see the slight red tint Johnny’s hands and arms were getting that always were the precursor to a flame up. Generally Johnny had complete control over his emotions and he wouldn’t let them affect his abilities. Every once in a while they’d get the better of him though. 

Johnny looked over at Peter, realizing he was watching him and not the TV. He glanced down at his hands and realized he was starting to lose the very tight control he always tried to maintain. “I’m going to go start the grill.”

Wyatt picked up the lighter and held it out to Johnny. “Here...”. He didn’t miss the look Peter gave him as Johnny ignored him and headed outside without the lighter.

“He looks like he’s my age.” The sorrow was evident in Kitty’s voice and it pulled everyone’s attention back to the TV. Most of the abandoned house had been destroyed but the two mutants in question were unconscious and being restrained in some kind of device.

Peter reached down and picked up the remote, turning off the TV. “It sucks but we have to let Professor X deal with it. If we get involved it’ll just make everything messy.”

XXXXXXXXXX

Peter took a deep breath as he half knocked on, half pushed open Johnny’s door. “Let’s talk.” Peter realized he wasn’t giving him an option but Johnny had been pretty sullen through most of dinner, even more so after Amanda and Kitty had left.

Johnny stretched back on his bed and nodded for Peter to shut the door behind him. “This whole thing isn’t going away.”

Peter leaned against the dresser. “I know. Which is why we need to make sure no one does anything stupid. Lighting the grill tonight...that was stupid.”

Johnny shrugged. “I know. I’d probably still do it again though.”

“That’s what I’m talking about Johnny. If we want to keep everyone safe then we can’t risk anyone seeing us do the things that we can do.” Peter crossed his arms and watched Johnny wrestle with what he was suggesting.

“You’re telling me you’re not getting involved if someone needs help.” Johnny smirked at the look of almost anguish on Peter’s face at the thought. “You and I both know this is going to get messy.”

“I’m not saying it’s not going to. I just want to make sure everyone stays safe. We can’t do that if you’re flaming up out in the open. If you or I are careless, it’ll make it that much easier for Davis or Bobby to screw up. I mean, Bobby ices down our drinks at the Odyssey all the time.”

“You can’t keep everyone safe Peter.”

Peter pulled himself away from the dresser. “You don’t think I know that? But you better believe I’m going to do everything in my power to try.”

Johnny eyed Peter. “You’ve got something up your sleeve.”

“Safe house in the warehouse district for starters. It’s on the water so there are multiple egress points. Well fortified. We can’t do anything about how people feel about mutants. What we can do is give ourselves a chance at not being exposed. If and when that time comes I want it to be on our terms, not because someone saw you lighting a grill with your fingers.”

Johnny studied Peter. He understood what he was saying. Bobby and Davis always looked to Peter and then Johnny for guidance. Peter was right. If they could stay under the radar they could weather the storm. “So field trip to the safe house tomorrow?”


	2. Chapter 2

The blue portal closed behind the five boys, lights flipping on as soon as the motion sensors detected their movement. Wyatt looked around the room. It was almost as well outfitted as the command center at the compound. “I can’t believe we have a safe house. I kind of understood why Tony had one in New York but I really didn’t expect...this.”

Peter walked over to the side of the room that held the medical equipment. “Believe it or not, this wasn’t dad’s idea. It was Steve’s.” Pulling open one of the cabinet doors he noticed that it was even more well stocked than the one in New York. “I think when they started questioning whether enhanced individuals were more of or less of a threat than mutants he started remembering what it was like being on the run after the mess with the accords.” He glanced over at the others. “Hopefully it won’t come to that but it gives us options.”

Johnny continued exploring the cabinets aligning the walls. There was extra gear, not only their gear, but gear he knew Bucky, Sam, and Nat used. They were all worried. He had spent a large portion of last night thinking about what Peter had said, an even larger portion of the night looking at footage of incidents similar to the one they had watched happening all over the world. “Reed has a couple contingency plans in place and we all know Tony does too. Let’s just do what we can to not have to use this place.” He turned to face the group. “Peter is right, we need to stay out of it and let Tony and Charles handle it though official channels. Tony handled the Accords, he can handle this too.” He looked over at Peter, “But he’ll have his hands full so let’s not give him anything additional to worry about.”

Peter smiled, immensely grateful that whatever soul searching Johnny had done last night had put them on the same side. “The goal is to just fly under everyone’s radar. Which means no abilities in the open where people might be able to see.”

They all nodded in agreement. Bobby walked over to the window that looked out over the river. Dirt and grime covered the exterior of the window, contributing to the appearance of an abandoned warehouse. “And when everything blows up and we are in the middle of it?”

“Hopefully it’s on our terms and not someone else’s.” Peter shoved his hands into his pockets. He didn’t have a good answer. None of them were stupid, they all knew they would end up in the middle of things. “Look, everyone got over the Accords, they’ll get over this.”

“Yeah, I’m not sure humanity has the best track record when dealing with things that are different.” Bobby looked around the room at his team mates. “Professor X has contingency plans too and I don’t like any of them.”

Peter shrugged, “We’re all in this together...”

“That’s just it...we’re not. You and Johnny aren’t mutants...you’re...”. He looked over at Davis. “What they’d call people like Captain America and the Hulk?”

Peter crossed his arms. “Mutates...and it’s a stupid distinction. In fact, throwing labels on people is just an attempt to divide them. We’re too smart to let that happen.” He looked around the room. They were all on edge and it was only going to get worse. “So new rule...mutant and mutate and whatever other terms anyone wants to throw out are off limits. We’re a team and to the outside world we’re just five college students.”

“So what you’re saying is we can totally have wild parties at the safe house.” Davis smirked at his teammates. The comment had served the purpose of breaking the palatable tension in the room. 

Johnny smiled and moved to stand next to Davis. “No wild parties. But I think a night out at the Odyssey would be a good idea. Classes start in two days.” He glanced over at Peter. They had their work cut out. 

XXXXXXXXXX

Peter felt his phone vibrate as they got to the door of the Odyssey. Seeing Ned’s face on the screen he nodded to everyone else to head in. “Hey! How was the job interview?”

“Great! I start tomorrow. It’s a tech start up called Kingsley Enterprises. The pay is good...good enough that I may actually be able to get my own apartment.”

“That’s great Ned! So what do they do?” Peter couldn’t help the smile that broke out across his face. Being out on his own would probably help Ned more than anything else.

“Uhh...I can’t tell you.”

Peter frowned. “What do you mean you can’t tell me.”

“I had to sign a confidentiality agreement. It’s tech stuff...you know Pepper makes everyone sign them at SI too. Plus, my SI internship is on my resume. Since they function in the same industry I specifically can’t talk about it with you.”

“That’s ridiculous.” Peter realized he had never been on the employee side. It made sense, he just didn’t like it.

Ned sighed. “Just don’t push me please? I really want this to work out.”

Peter sucked in a breath. “I know. No pushing.” He thought switching subjects would be easier. “So still on for movies with Betty Friday?”

“Even better. We’re going out for dinner tonight to celebrate. By ourselves. Mom must have been distracted or something when she said yes.” Ned paused for a moment. “Which means I need to get ready. I just wanted to call and let you know how it went.”

“Ned, I’m really happy for you. Have fun with Betty tonight.” Peter pocketed his phone after Ned said goodby and pulled the door open to the Odyssey. Seeing the group at their regular table he slid into one of the chairs. 

“How’s Ned?” Bobby pushed a lemonade in front of Peter in a semi peace offering.

“He’s good. He got the job. Anyone ever hear of Kingsley Enterprises? It’s a start up tech company” Peter glanced around the table. He wasn’t the only one supposedly plugging into the science community. Seeing resounding shakes of heads he frowned. 

Wyatt pulled out his phone and typed the name into the search engine. “Kingsley Enterprises. Started late last year focus seems to be computer interface for various devices.” He looked over at Peter. “Is that who Ned is working for?”

Peter took a sip of his lemonade and nodded. “Computer interface...that’s uncomfortably familiar.”

Davis scrolled through on his own phone. “Looks like they also do industrial grade devices.” He flipped his phone around and showed Peter a picture of welding gloves that seemed to have the welding device built in. “No controller tech.” He looked at the phone again. “They make lightweight safety gear too. Sort of like Kevlar but with industrial applications.”

“Why isn’t Ned just working at SI?” Wyatt slid his phone back into his pocket. 

Peter sighed. “I tried. It was important to him that he handle all of this on his own. He didn’t want to forever feel like everything he accomplished was because he’s friends with me.”

Bobby frowned. “That’s ridiculous. I’ve seen some of his coding. He could get a job at any tech company without ever going to college.”

Peter nodded. “I said the same thing.” He frowned thinking back to all of the conversations over the summer. “The thing in California affected him more than I think he wants to admit.” He looked up at his team. “His mom is suffocating him but sometimes I think he almost needs it. He second guesses himself a lot...like he can’t trust himself to make the right decisions.”

Bobby shrugged. “He did hook up with Basil not once but twice.”

Peter sighed. “I know. Hopefully this works out better than that did.”


	3. Chapter 3

Peter followed Wyatt down the steps of the plane, smiling as he saw Wyatt lean down to kiss Jen. He watched MJ pull herself away from where she was leaning against the SUV. Meeting her halfway he took the bag from her and gave another glance at Jen and Wyatt. Hopefully by the time he dropped MJ off on Sunday things would still be going smoothly. “Are you ready?”

MJ nodded. “Jen, I’ll text when when we’re about to take off. That should give you enough time to get here to swap hostages.”

Jen laughed. “If you and Peter would stop looking at these things as some kind of purgatory you might actually have fun.”

Peter shook his head. “It’s dinner with the board of directors. How is that fun?”

Wyatt shrugged. “We’ll have fun for you then. Just spend the weekend being Peter and you’ll be fine.”

Peter nodded and turned to follow MJ back up the steps of the plane. Settling into the cockpit he glanced over at MJ as they took off. “You ok?”

MJ nodded. “I’m assuming the ‘just be Peter’ comment means you’re not going out as Spider-Man?”

Peter sighed. “Yes. Although I want to check in with Miles and make sure he’s keeping a low profile too.”

“I know how much you hate the idea of being in New York and not going out as Spider-Man.” MJ turned in her seat to fully watch Peter. He’d make the attempt but it wouldn’t last.

“I don’t really have another option. If I somehow get exposed it puts everyone else at risk. Have you seen some of the news reports?”

Nodding, MJ sighed. “One of Jen’s criminal law professors is even bring up the fact that there aren’t even laws on the books to cover stuff like this. They’ll end up amending the Accords again just to deal with it.”

“I know, dad’s going to have his hands full. He doesn’t need to worry about me too. So, yes, I’m definitely not going out as Spider-Man this weekend. And, I probably need to have a better attitude about this dinner tomorrow night too.” Flipping on the auto pilot, he turned to look at her. “So, as a distraction, want to go to the movies tonight with Ned and Betty?”

MJ smirked at Peter. “I totally walked into that one, didn’t I. Yes, we can go to the movies with Ned and Betty. Has he told you anything else about the job?”

Peter shook his head. “Not a word. Just that he really enjoys it. And he made me promise not to push him for info.”

“I made no such promise so I’ll see what I can find out.”

XXXXXXXXXX

Tony looked up when the elevator doors opened. He hadn’t expected Peter and MJ to come upstairs when they got back from the movies. “What’s up kids?”

Peter leaned against the kitchen bar. “Do you know Roderick Kingsley?”

Tony frowned. “No. Should I?”

“FRIDAY, I’ve got a research project for you. Find anything you can on Roderick Kingsley and Kingsley Enterprises.” Peter paused a moment before adding “please.”

“Of course Peter. It will take some time to run a full background search and trace the company. Would you like me to wake you when I’m done?”

“Morning is find FRIDAY. Thanks.” Peter walked into the kitchen and pulled open the refrigerator, missing the look his dad gave MJ. He didn’t miss the sigh and shrug MJ gave in return. Pulling out a Gatorade he walked back out. “Years of keeping Spider-Man secret has turned Ned into someone who is really cagey about his job.”

MJ shook her head. “He’s just bothered because Ned won’t tell him anything about it.”

“Are you worried he’s gotten in over his head?” Tony crossed his arms and watched Peter pace in front of the kitchen. 

“No. He just won’t tell me anything.” Peter took a sip of the Gatorade and continued pacing.

“Did he say something that makes you think he’s in trouble.” Tony watched Peter pace. MJ had taken a seat in one of the bar stools and was just watching.

“No.”

Tony frowned. “Spidey sense?”

“No.” 

Tony looked over at MJ. “Ok...help me out. Why is Spiderling stressing out about Ned’s job.”

“I have no idea. Ned said he had to sign a confidentiality agreement so he can’t talk about his work. That’s no different than SI employees.” MJ leaned back and watched Peter. “Peter, maybe your ‘stress’ over Ned is just because you can’t go out as Spider-Man.”

Peter flopped into the chair next to MJ and looked up at his dad. “Maybe.”

Tony studied Peter’s face. “I know not being able to go out as Spider-Man is hard. It’s necessary though. If FRIDAY digs anything up on Kingsley she’ll let us know. Just relax this weekend, please. You won’t have another break until Fall Break and I’m worried by then I’ll have my hands full with amending the accords.” He waited for Peter to nod before continuing. “Dinner is at 7:00 tomorrow night so how about we spend part of tomorrow in the labs?” Tony wasn’t sure who he thought would get more out of the lab time, himself or Peter.

“That will be perfect. I have a paper I have to finish so if you two work in the lab I’ll have quiet to work.” MJ stood up, hopeful that working in the lab with Tony would distract Peter enough.

XXXXXXXXXX

Peter slid behind the wheel of one of his dad’s cars after closing the door behind MJ. Dinner hadn’t been terrible. Working in the lab the better part of the day until Pepper had forced them to get dressed had put him in a much better mood. FRIDAY hadn’t found anything too bad about Ned’s employer so he had convinced himself at this point that he was making too much out of Ned’s lack of details. “The Board wasn’t terrible.” He glanced over at MJ. He was interested to get her take on the group that they would one day have to work with.

“Lynch will be a problem going forward. I liked Armstrong. I’m glad they gave her a seat on the board.”

Peter frowned. “Which one was Lynch?”

“Older, grey hair. Really full of himself. Kept trying to monopolize Pepper.”

Peter nodded as he navigated his way around Central Park to head back to the tower. “Yeah, I didn’t like him.” He was about to comment on one of the other board members when his Spidey sense triggered. He slammed on the breaks as something ran in front of their car. On instinct he triggered the web shooters and looked over at MJ to make sure she was ok. His eyes flickered around for ways to escape, darting towards the side again when MJ shrieked. The figure was running between cars, trying doors. He was thankful the doors locked automatically. If he had taken one of the older cars, the man would have already pulled the door open.

Peter already knew he was boxed in and had no where to go. Cars all around him had come to a screeching halt. He could see police officers on foot and sirens were in the distance. They were both far enough away that he knew they wouldn’t get there in time. The man was bound to find a door unlocked. He pushed open his door, moving towards the back as the man tried another door. Finding one unlocked, the man yanked it open and pulled out the driver. Peter readied himself to tackle the man to the ground when the familiar repulsor whirl sounded and Iron Man landed hard on the other side of the target, firing a repulsor. 

The repulsor hit its mark, but the energy was absorbed by their target’s suit. The man, realizing he was outgunned, ran backwards toward an alley. Tony fired another shot, watching it absorb again. Two officers on foot chased the man into the alley. Peter was familiar enough with the area that he knew if they didn’t catch up with him soon, the man could escape through a series of connecting alleys that led to Central Park. There were enough hiding places in Central Park that Peter had very little hope that they’d be able to catch him.

“Are you ok?” Tony retracted the helmet and mask. Peter was focused on the officers following their target.

“What? Yeah.” Peter walked back over to his car. MJ had gotten out. “MJ?”

“I’m ok. What was that?” MJ rested her arm on the top of the door and looked across the car at Peter and Tony.

“No idea.” Peter turned to look at his dad. “How’d you get here so fast?”

“We weren’t too far behind you.” Tony glanced back as a police cruiser pulled up on the sidewalk. He retracted the rest of the suit. “Captain Stacy.”

George Stacy exited the cruiser and walked over to Peter and Tony. “Mr. Stark. Somehow I’m not surprised you’re here.” He glanced over at Peter. “Peter, good to see you. You should come by and see Gwen some time. She’s climbing the walls not being back at MIT this semester.”

“Yes sir, we miss seeing her. Tell her I said hi.” He looked over as MJ slid next to him. Wrapping an arm around her waist, he looked back at Captain Stacy. “Captain, this is Michelle Jones.”

MJ reached her hand out to shake Captain Stacy’s hand. “What’s going on?”

“Robbery at a charity dinner.” He looked at what the three of them were wearing. “You weren’t there, were you?”

Tony shook his head. “No. Who was it? They had something on that absorbed a repulsor blast.” He’d have FRIDAY run the data when they got back to the tower.

Captain Stacy frowned. “We didn’t get reports of specialized tech. Some people thought it was some kind of halloween costume.”

Peter frowned as MJ nodded. “He had some kind of hood on. Almost looked like chain mail under the rest of his clothing. Gloves.”

George Stacy looked at MJ. Considering she had just a few seconds of contact she had given him more than most of the people attending the dinner that had been robbed. “Ok. I’ll have an officer drop by tomorrow and get any information you have.”

Tony nodded. “Gwen has Peter’s cell number. Just call him and let him know. If my suit picked up anything helpful turn it over.”

Peter watched Captain Stacy retreat to the sidewalk where his officers had amassed. Cars had started moving again. “Want a ride back to the tower?”

Tony shook his head. “I’ll fly.” He looked over at MJ. “You sure you two are ok?”

MJ nodded. “We’re fine. See you in a few minutes.” They watched the nanites form the Iron Man suit and Tony blast off in short order. “You ok?” She squeezed Peter’s hand. He nodded and walked back over to the car. MJ was already in and buckled by the time Peter slid behind the wheel. “You can’t go out tonight.”

Peter sighed and navigated through traffic. “I know. I’ll call Miles tomorrow and see if he’s heard anything. I need to check in with him anyway.”


	4. Chapter 4

Wyatt pushed the door open, Peter following behind. Bobby looked over from the kitchen. “Hey, look who made it home in time for dinner.”

Peter rolled his eyes and slid into one of the kitchen stools. “I’ll take next Sunday. How was your weekend?”

“Boring and uneventful. I’ve decided I miss being beaten by Gwen at pool.” Bobby slid three pans of lasagna into the oven and walked out of the kitchen. “How was the dinner?”

“Dinner not so bad. Almost got car jacked on the way home.” Peter spun in his stool to look at Bobby who had walked into the living room to join Wyatt on the couch. “Gwen says hi, by the way.”

“There’s no way you would have been carjacked. What happened?” Bobby sat down on the couch opposite Wyatt, glancing back as Davis and Johnny walked down the stairs.

“Some guy robbed people attending a charity dinner. Apparently the security for the dinner chased him into traffic. His option was to try to steal a car.”

Davis shook his head. “Why can’t you go anywhere and not have something happen?” 

“So what did you end up doing?” Johnny leaned over the back of the sofa. “I didn’t see any reports about you being outed as Spider-Man so...”

“I was good! I didn’t go out once. Dad was about a half a block behind us so Iron Man took care of it.” Peter frowned, “It was weird though. Whatever the guy had on absorbed the repulsor blast. It almost acted like vibranium.”

“Is T’Challa missing some? Maybe your robber made some kind of vibranium suit.” Bobby stretched back and glanced around at the group. Wakanda kept a really tight rein over vibranium. The chances of some having gotten out was pretty slim.

Peter shrugged. “Dad said FRIDAY didn’t pick up the same readings he does if it’s T’Challa’s suit. FRIDAY is keeping an eye on it.” Peter knew if he stayed on the topic much longer it would pique everyone’s interest. “Hey...I talked to Gwen. She sounds really good. She asked if the next time were in town if we’ll all come by and see her.”

Bobby smiled. “She looked good every time I saw her this summer. I was a little surprised she didn’t come back this semester.”

“She said the doctors probably could have been convinced, her dad on the other hand was worried about her overdoing it. She said if she managed to stay seizure free she may be back next semester.” Peter frowned a little bit. Gwen had a much better handle on what had happened than he did. He still though he should have been able to protect her.

“Speaking of overprotective parents and people you like to take responsibility for...”. Johnny stood up from where he was leaning on the couch and walked over to Peter. “How’s Ned?”

Peter looked up and forced a smile. “He’s good. Enjoying the job. Won’t tell me anything about it.”

“Which drives you nuts.” Bobby stood up and walked into the kitchen to check on dinner. 

Peter shrugged and stood up to help Bobby get things ready for dinner. “I’m working on it. FRIDAY couldn’t find much on the guy.”

Johnny rolled his eyes and joined them in the kitchen. “You had FRIDAY check?” 

Peter cut him off before he could say anything else. “I know. MJ spent a lot of time this weekend telling me to stop obsessing. So I am. The plan is to focus on school. So that’s what I’m doing.”

XXXXXXXXXX

Tony turned off the TV. The news reports were coming in from so many countries. A minor skirmish had erupted into anti-mutant protests in almost every major country - almost all of them turning violent. 

“Boss, Professor Xavier is calling. Would you like to take the call?”

Tony scrubbed a hand over his face. “Yes FRIDAY.” He waited for the call to connect. “Charles, I’m assuming you’ve got the news on?”

“Yes. I believe we need to bypass normal channels and go straight to the UN to work on the accords. If not, I fear we won’t get a say in the matter.”

“We can leave as soon as you get here. I’ll have Happy prep the plane.” As he hung up with Charles Tony filtered through everything he’d have to prep for since he’d more than likely be gone for at least a week if not more. If they had been working through channels they could have stayed in DC. Going straight to the UN meant they could probably accomplish everything faster but it also meant he couldn’t get home quickly if something happened. Vienna was too far away to easily take the suit if something happened at home, at least and not get there in time to help. He had a lot to prepare in the couple hours it would take Charles to get here. Pepper was call number one. She had been preparing for this knowing that eventually he would have to get involved. Peter was call two. That call was going to take longer. So far he was cooperating but Tony knew it wouldn’t last.

XXXXXXXXXX

Peter hung up the phone with his dad. He had caught him as he was leaving a lab. He had been in class all day so hadn’t seen anything about the attacks or riots. He walked into one of the cafes near the chemistry building and saw students gathered around TVs. His dad had already filled him in so he didn’t need to fight the crowds to see it in person. He had about thirty minutes to kill, deciding that he didn’t want to deal with crowds of people watching and commenting on something that could potentially wreck his life, he did a u-turn and headed back outside. Flipping through the contacts on his phone he found Miles. He should have gotten out of school thirty minutes ago so he should be free to talk. 

“Hey.”

Peter frowned. He could tell from he background noise Miles was on top of a building. “Are you patrolling?”

“No?”

“Seriously? You’re going to try that with me? What are you doing?”

“Your carjacker from last weekend has been seen a couple times. The police haven’t been overly effective.”

“Miles. Have you seen the news reports?” Peter glanced around to make sure no one was within hearing range of him. “This is getting dangerous. Your suit is limited on being able to send out an SOS if you get in trouble.”

“I’m not getting in trouble. I’m just keeping an eye on things. Plus, if Spider-Man isn’t occasionally seen helping someone across the street or stopping a mugging people will get even more suspicious.” Miles paused. “I’m just keeping an eye out for him. I’m worried.”

Peter scrubbed a hand over his face. Miles was worried specifically about his dad which meant the police had additional information that made them think the car jacker was dangerous and they were outgunned. “Ok. Send me what you have. I’m out of class early on Friday. I’ll drive down and we can see if we can just stop him ourselves.” And by ‘we’ Peter definitely meant just himself. He didn’t want Miles anywhere near this. He glanced over as Wyatt and Davis walked up. “I’m serious. Send me what you have and try to keep a low profile. Be careful.”

Davis had heard the last part of the conversation. After Miles hung up he gave Peter a questioning look. “Miles?”

Peter nodded. “You two ready to head back? I’ll fill you in on the way.” He tapped his watch. “Karen, get into the police databases and find what you can on the car jacker from last weekend.” A spider icon flashed across the screen indicating her affirmative response

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh...I’ve determined over the last year or so of writing that I’m not good at filler chapters. They’re necessary to get from one point to another but I think I definitely like the action better...which will pick up again in the next chapter. As always, comments are appreciated!


	5. Chapter 5

“Peter, what happened to keeping a low profile?” Wyatt crossed his arms and stared at Peter. He had filled them in on the way back to the house and neither one of them were happy about Peter’s plan. He glanced down at his watch. Johnny and Bobby would be home in about an hour. He couldn’t wait to see what Johnny did with Peter’s “do as I say, not as I do” approach to the current situation.

“I will keep a low profile. I’m just trying to keep Miles out of the line of fire. If he thinks his dad is in danger he’s going to do something risky. So I’m just going to take care of the problem for him.” He sat down on the sofa and pulled out his chemistry notebook. He had a project due before fall break and only a couple weekend to truly work on it, even less if the problems in New York continued. 

Wyatt threw his hands up. “You are impossible.” All three boys turned to look at the door when it opened. Wyatt frowned at Bobby and Johnny as they walked through. “Why are you home?”

Johnny let out a little growl and threw his backpack over the back of one of the sofas. “They’ve canceled class for the rest of the day because of the riots. There are protests in front of the statehouse in Boston Commons.” He studied Wyatt for a moment. “Why don’t you know that? And why are you teed up?”

Wyatt glanced down at his phone and saw the message from the school telling them classes were canceled for the rest of the day. He looked back up at Johnny. “Because our fearless leader is planning to go back to New York this weekend and deal with the car jacker.”

Johnny looked over at Peter. Peter wouldn’t risk exposing any of them for a car jacker. “What’s going on?”

Peter sighed. “I talked to Miles. The car jacker isn’t just some car jacker. The police are having problems with him and he’s worried.” He put down his chemistry notes, preparing to defend his plan. “If Miles is worried, it’s because he thinks his dad is at risk of being hurt. If I leave it up to him, he runs the risk of getting caught which in turn could wind up exposing all of us. If I go, I can find the guy, take care of him, and be back here by Sunday night. No one’s exposed, no one’s hurt.”

Johnny nodded and looked back at Wyatt. “What’s the problem?”

Wyatt looked at Johnny in exasperation. “That is not the reaction I expected.”

Johnny leaned against the kitchen bar. “Miles is worried about losing his father. That’s one of the things that drove him to take up the mantle of Spider-Man. I get that fear and what it’ll make you do.” He glanced around the room at the other four boys. “Look, we all have ‘daddy issues’. Davis and Bobby, you hate yours because all they did was try to use you. Davis, yours has tried to kill you and Bobby, yours has beat the crap out of you.” He looked over at Wyatt. “Yours tries to turn you into something you’re not and never want to be, not giving you options and you hate him for it.” He looked back at Peter. “Peter lost the person he thought was his father when he was 3 years old. He didn’t find out about Tony until he was 17. In between he had his surrogate father figure die in front of him.“. He looked around the room again. “Mine died in prison. I still loved him after everything he did. For all of his drunken benders he never took it out on me or Sue. He just couldn’t get over losing my mom.” He paused for a moment. “So I get where Peter’s head is. I’m not sure you three can. It’s about protecting Miles more than anything else. He doesn’t need to lose his dad and if Peter can do something about it he should.”

Peter looked up at Johnny. He hadn’t expected him to understand but he also hadn’t expected him to put it in that context. But he was right. This wasn’t about a car jacker. It was about Miles. “And you four can’t go because if something happens and I do get caught, I can insulate you. If you’re with me I can’t do that.” He could tell he still hadn’t convinced them. “Look, Karen is pulling information from the police files. If I think I’m out of my league I’ll call Steve and get his help. But I don’t think I am. He’s got specialized tech but from what I saw he’s just a guy. No enhancements.”

Bobby looked over at Wyatt who he could tell still wasn’t on board. Deciding a change of subject would be a better approach he looked at Peter. “Have you talked to your dad?”

Peter nodded, appreciating the topic change. “He and Professor X are headed to Vienna. The UN is calling a special meeting of the Accords committee to start working through amendments.” He glanced around at everyone. “It’s going to take a while but he said he’d keep us posted.”

XXXXXXXXXX

Peter perched on the side of a building in Manhattan. According to the police files, all of their run ins had happened on this side of town. Besides the charity dinner robbery, there had been a jewelry store robbery, a bank robbery, and robbery in an upscale night club. The descriptions matched what MJ had given the police after the attempted car jacking. No one understood the get up but it made him easy to identify. Whatever he had on was apparently bullet proof as well as repulsor proof.

“Hey Karen, can you try Ned again?” Peter listened to the rings as the call once again went to voice mail. He huffed in frustration and disconnected without leaving a voice mail. The four earlier voicemails would probably be considered overboard at this point.

“Peter, 911 just received a call about a suspected break in. Police are in route. I’ve mapped the quickest route on your HUD.”

Peter flung a web and followed the route lit up on his HUD. This time the target seemed to be a scientific warehouse. Karen had plotted the route that would take him to intersect his suspect at the logical egress route. “Karen, deep scans as soon as we see him.”

He heard the movement before he saw it. The door pushed open, the hood that had become familiar after several hours of reviewing police footage appeared. Peter could see a glint of the dull chain mail illuminated by the street light. Definitely his guy.

Flipping in front of his target, he didn’t bother with the normal niceties. Firing two webs immediately he was a little surprised to see them slide off of the chain mail. Automatically flipping over to taser webs he flung additional webs but instead of waiting to see if they would stick, he flipped over his opponent and landed a kick to his targets’ back to drive his opponent to the ground. 

The man pushed himself up and hurled a blade at Spider-Man. Seeing sparks where the blade made contact he grinned under the hood and triggered the mechanism in his gloves. Miniature tracer bullets erupted from the gloves and targeted Spider-Man. It amused him to watch his opponent dodge the projectiles. Spider-Man certainly lived up to his name and reputation. He was so distracted he missed the baton hitting him on the back of the knees driving him to the ground again. 

Spider-Man landed on the side of the building, letting the projectile explode directly below him. He had sensed the apparent help moment before the figure swung the baton. Recognition set in as he flipped off the building and fired a string of webs at the targets hands, attempting to take the projectiles out of the fight. The man had recovered from the attack and had rolled into a crouch. 

Webbing wrapped around his wrists he triggered an electrical charge in an attempt to free his hands. Another kick sent him flying across the alley. The force was enough to loosen his hands so he readied for another volley of projectiles, this time aimed at the Devil with the baton. The scarlet suit almost glowed in contrast to the darker navy suit belonging to Spider-Man. The Devil was as proficient as Spider-Man was in dodging the projectiles. He tried to parry a blow from Spider-Man but found himself driven back. He could hear sirens and he realized that he wouldn’t be able to combat both Spider-Man, Daredevil, and the police. Pulling a canister out of his pouch he glanced at all of his targets. Two police officers at the entrance of the alley and the two that were actively attacking him. Setting the parameters he threw the canister down, igniting the smoke and released another series of projectiles. Knowing he would only be blocked by the smoke temporarily he scampered down the alley leaving the projectiles flying toward their targets.

Spider-Man and Daredevil dodged the projectiles headed towards them. Peter’s HUD showed all of the possible destinations. He realized a group was headed towards the police officer. Flinging a web he landed in front of them, causing them both to duck. Most of the projectiles flew over their heads and hit the police cruiser, tearing holes in the side. Peter realized the two remaining ones had found their way into his arm. Surprised that the nanites had been breeched he felt them brace his upper arm where the projectiles had torn through the skin. Glancing at the officers to make sure they were unhurt he scampered up the side of the building until he reached the roof. Retreating to the shadows he scanned the area around the building. “Karen, any sign of our target or our unexpected help?”

“No. Peter, your arm requires medical attention. I’ve plotted the quickest path home however I’m concerned about your ability to swing there. Shall I call Davis?”

“No!” Peter studied the path. “I can make it.”


	6. Chapter 6

Peter landed hard on the balcony at the tower, collapsing to his knees. Forcing himself to his feet he held on to the door that FRIDAY had slid open. The elevator that would take him down to the floor with the medical suites was on the other side of the room. His arm was throbbing. He knew the nanites had applied a layer of medical webbing to stem the bleeding and braced his upper arm but they weren’t designed to give him any kind of pain killers. The only thing that worked was the stuff that knocked him completely out and that would be a horrible idea in the middle of a battle or swinging.

The suit retracted around him as he moved gingerly towards the elevator. Swinging had definitely not been the best choice but he didn’t really have other options. Halfway to the tower he had seriously considered retracting the suit and taking an Uber. If he had been on the other side of the channel he would have. Davis hadn’t been an option because there was no way he would let him portal to an open area in the current environment. FRIDAY had the doors to the elevator open by the time he got there so all he had to do was lean against the elevator wall once he was inside. 

“Peter, should I call someone?”

Peter pulled himself away from the wall as the door slid open on the floor to the medical suites. “FRIDAY, who are you going to call? Dad’s in Europe. Rhodey is in DC. Dr. Cho is in Korea. Everyone else is either in Boston or the Compound.” He pulled open a cabinet and grabbed a sterile kit he knew contained everything he needed and sat down on one of the beds.

“Davis could portal here.”

“All of them suck at this part and we don’t need to risk it. At this time of night they’re probably all still at the Odyssey which means they won’t be smart about it. I’ve got this.” Peter knew if he called Davis they would all assume it was worse than what it was and portal immediately. He didn’t want to take that risk. Plus, it wasn’t that bad. All he had to do was pull the projectile out and stitch himself up enough for his healing to start. He might even be able to get away with just a layer of medical webbing. 

Peter opened the sterile kit and laid everything out. Glancing down at where the nanites were bracing his arm, he readied himself to release them. Taking a deep breath he released the nanites and started peeling back the medical webbing. Over all it wasn’t too bad. Where the projectile had skimmed the surface had almost already stopped bleeding. It was the hole in his arm that was the problem. 

“FRIDAY, can you image my arm from here?” He though he heard a distinct sigh come from the AI but a moment later a 3D holographic image of Peter’s arm appeared in front of him. He could see where the projectile had lodged in the muscle. Taking another deep breath he picked up the thin forceps and inserted them into the hole. Hissing against the pain he focused on the image until the forceps came in contact with the small projectile. Closing his eyes and pulling, he dropped the forceps into the tray next to him, hearing the distinct ping of the projectile hitting the metal tray. Knowing he needed to at least wrap his arm if not stitch it he opened his eyes and looked down at his arm. “FRIDAY, do you think I can get away with no stitches?”

“No. You need at least one.”

Peter looked up at the ceiling when he heard his dad’s voice. “Aren’t you supposed to be in a meeting making sure we all don’t end up in some internment camp?”

“We’re taking a break. You know I still get notified of injuries, right?”

Peter sighed. “Yes. I just somehow thought you’d be wrapped up in other things until I at least had it handled.” He reached over and grabbed the suture kit and threaded the curved needle. Taking a saline soaked gauze pad he cleaned up the area and proceeded to stitch the opening. “There. Happy?”

“Hell no. FRIDAY, connect video.” 

Peter grimaced as his dad’s face appeared on the screen. “You know I’m ok, right?”

“Yeah...fill me in. You’re supposed to be in Boston so imagine my surprise when the injury report comes through and shows your position in New York.”

Peter sighed and walked over to the auto IV machine. “Car jacking isn’t just a car jacking. He’s been hitting multiple high value targets. Miles was worried.”

“Ok. So I’m assuming it didn’t go as planned?”

Peter frowned. “You haven’t watched the footage yet?”

Tony laughed. “Give me a minute. Hook up the IV.”

Peter could hear the subdued fight sounds from the connection as the IV slipped in. He closed his eyes and waited for his dad to finish watching. 

“Huh...so how was Daredevil?”

Peter opened his eyes and looked over at his dad. “That’s where you’re going first?” He shook his head. “He was fine. Good fighter. I know this will shock you but there wasn’t much talking. My plan was to finish it quickly.” He paused for a minute. “So who is he?”

Tony shrugged, “Daredevil? No idea. Unlike a certain 14 year old, he does a good job covering his trail. Of course I’ve never really had a reason to dig into him before so...”

“I think we have bigger concerns. Did you see what the projectile did?” Peter studied his dad’s reaction to the question.

“You mean tearing a hole in your arm after slicing through the Iron Spider like butter? Yeah, I caught that. I also caught the fact that your webs slid off of the chain mail.”

Peter nodded. “I’m actually glad the projectile hit me. Gives us something to analyze. Did you see the damage it did to the Police Cruiser?” He fought a yawn. He could tell he was starting to crash. “The webbing sliding off is a little worrisome. Last time that happened was with Osborn and we never really figured out what he did.”

Tony nodded. “I know.” He paused for a moment. “Not happy that it hit you but give the projectile to FRIDAY to analyze before you go upstairs to crash. I’ll get Nat to look through the Osborn stuff again and see if she can find some kind of connection.”

Peter sighed and looked over at the IV bag. It probably still had another couple minutes. “I’m sorry.”

Tony shrugged. “I get it. There’s a lot going on. I just need you to not do everything on your own.”

“I didn’t want the rest of them near it in case something did happen.” 

Tony crossed his arms and watched Peter. He still always fell back on well practiced habits of protecting others at the cost of his own safety. Fighting with the kid when he was hurt never ended well so he changed subjects. “What are your plans tomorrow?”

“Review what FRIDAY finds out about the projectile, check in with Miles, track down Ned.”

Tony frowned. “What do you mean track down Ned?”

“He didn’t pick up the phone when I tried calling, didn’t respond to texts, and when I tried going to his new apartment he didn’t answer.” He looked over at his dad. “So, I need to track him down. How are the meetings going? Any chance this is wrapping up quickly and we can all go back to our lives?”

Tony shook his head. “This is not wrapping up quickly. Don’t expect me home for a couple weeks at the earliest.” He paused for a moment. “They’re talking registration again with no age cut off. And not just for anyone operating in the open but for anyone enhanced or with mutated DNA.”

Peter frowned. “What are they going to do, force DNA tests on billions of people? I don’t think that’s going to be received well and I think they’d be shocked to know exactly how many people have mutated DNA.”

Tony nodded, “Charles said the same thing. If they keep pushing it we’ll probably suggest starting with the council. Charles suspects at least two of them have mutated DNA and just don’t know it. That’ll probably get them over to our side faster than anything else.” Tony paused again. “Where we think we’ll end up is organized self monitoring...meaning Charles’ group will be tasked with policing mutant activity. Which unfortunately means registration for them. Charles doesn’t love the idea but it’s better than any of the alternatives so far. He thinks he can still get anyone under 18 excluded as long as they’re not participating in missions.” Tony made eye contact with Peter. “But that means Davis and Bobby could end up exposed, which doesn’t bode well for a team that effectively operates as a SHIELD team.” He saw the worry on Peter’s face. “I’m working through getting anyone tied to SHIELD removed based on security reasons. So don’t worry about it.”

“How am I not supposed to worry about it? Neither one of them needs to be exposed.”

“Peter, I’m not going to let that happen. You’ve got to trust me that I do understand what’s at stake.” He watched Peter stifle another yawn. “You need to crash. Call me when you wake up and we can go over FRIDAY’s results together. It’ll give my brain a break from politics.” He heard the IV machine click off. “Go to bed Spiderkid. Let your arm heal.”

Peter nodded as he rubbed his hand from where the IV had inserted. Reaching into the tray he picked up the projectile and rinsed it with saline before dropping it into a drawer that had slid open. “Talk to you in the morning.”


	7. Chapter 7

Peter walked into the lab, second sandwich in one hand, swallowing the remainder of the first sandwich. “FRIDAY, what did you find out about the projectile?”

“The projectile utilizes a synthetic alloy. Unlike most armor piercing projectiles, this one does not utilize any kind of jacketing. The velocity at which it travels is what leads to its effectiveness at breaching armor. The material itself is similar to the material Boss’s suit is made out of. The Iron Spider is thinner so it’s not surprising it could breach it. “

Peter looked at the screens. “Would it have breached the Iron Man suit?”

“Unlikely. To breech the thickness of the Iron Man suit the velocity the projectile would have to travel is approximately 4,285 miles per hour.”

Peter chuckled. “Approximately...”. He thought about the data. “So unlikely but not impossible. The Quinjet can achieve that, just not for an extended period of time.”

“Correct. But the QuinJet is powered by an Arc Reactor which allows for the velocity to be reached. A projectile only goes as fast as it can be launched.”

Peter mulled over what FRIDAY had found out. “Is Dad available?”

“No. Their work session resumed two hours ago. He said he’d call you when they took break.”

Peter looked at his watch. It was 4pm in Vienna. They’d probably break for dinner so he might as well try to track down Ned. He needed everything FRIDAY had just told him to roll around in his head for a little while anyway. “Ok. Analyze Karen’s deep scans from last night and see if you can identify the material the chain mail is made out of and see if you can estimate how much kinetic energy it’s able to absorb. I didn’t use full strength. Maybe 60% - 75%?”

“Of course Peter.” FRIDAY paused a moment. “You do realize if you had used you full strength you might not have been shot?”

Peter grinned. That had to be dad’s influence. “Yes, but then we wouldn’t have anything to analyze, would we?” His arm still ached so he finished his sandwich and grabbed his subway card. Ned’s apartment was near Columbia. He wondered if Betty had anything to do with the location. He shot Miles a text to check in as he was getting on the subway. 

A couple of stops later, Peter exited the subway station. He called Ned again and when it went to voicemail again he shot him a text. Pulling up the string of unanswered texts he scrolled back until he found the text where Ned had sent him his address. Double checking it, he entered the building and jogged up the stairs. Double checking again the apartment number, he knocked on the door. After the sixth knock Peter was seriously considering breaking in. Pulling out his phone he debated between which number to dial. Settling on one he waited for it to be picked up.

“Hey! What’s up.”

Peter smiled at the sound of MJ’s voice. “I need you to talk me out of breaking into Ned’s apartment.” He could almost hear her frowning.

“Why would you break into Ned’s apartment?”

“Because he’s not answering his phone and I can’t get him to text me back.”

MJ took a deep breath. “That isn’t grounds for an invasion of privacy. If you don’t believe me I can check with a criminal defense attorney intern I know...”

“And that’s why I called you. To give me a shot of reality.” Peter glanced at the door again before heading back to the stairs. 

“So you’re not breaking in?”

“No.” Peter sighed as he jogged down the stairs. “So what are you doing this weekend?”

“Studying. Did you fix your problem?”

Peter pushed the door open leading to the sidewalk. “Not really. It got a little more complicated but nothing a good nights sleep didn’t fix.”

“So you got hurt. He was more of a problem than you thought?” Thanks to Karen, MJ already knew he had gotten hurt, she was just glad he was volunteering the information.

“It isn’t bad. And I’m obviously alive.”

MJ let out a sigh. “Sure you don’t want to change your mind and let the rest of them help? Or maybe Nat or Steve?”

“I actually had help last night. A certain devil.”

“Seriously? How did he get involved? Did you compare notes?”

“Despite what everyone thinks I don’t talk to everyone.”

MJ laughed. “Yes you do. Bucky told me about the entire conversation you tried to have when you first met him and Sam.

“Ok, well this time I just wanted to wrap it up quickly.” Peter paused before entering the subway station. He would lose the signal too much further in unless he flipped over to Karen’s interface. “I’m headed back to the tower. If I can’t hang out with Ned I might as well work on finding something to combat the tech. Unless you want to come spend the day with me?”

MJ laughed. “As much as I would like to, I have too many tests next week. Be careful.”

XXXXXXXXXX

“Ok, run the simulation against the denser Iron Spider.” Tony watched the simulation results on his screen. He would much rather physically be in the lab with Peter but for now, this would have to do.

“Dad, it’s going to have to be twice as thick to stop it and at that point I might as well just take one of your suits.” Peter watched the same results pop up on his screen. His suit was just too thin to take the hit from the projectile. 

Tony sighed. “So you’re telling me you’re taking an Iron Man suit?” He already knew the answer was no. Peter could use them, he just wasn’t proficient with the repulsors in battle. Instinct kept him trying to flip out of the way which did not work in an Iron Man suit. 

“No. I’m telling you I’ll just take his gloves out of the equation early. Any luck figuring out how he’s controlling them?” Peter pulled up another screen where they had been able to deep scan the projectile. FRIDAY’s early analysis had told them the projectiles had safeguards in place that would keep them from taking them apart, at least for now.

“No, but it’s safe to assume they work like tracer bullets just on a much smaller scale.” Tony studied the data for a moment. “How about shielding?”

“The projectiles have shielding?” Peter flipped through the data again. He hadn’t seen anything that gave him the idea that they had some kind of shielding.

“No, for you.” Something that springs up automatically.” They had been playing around with shielding like the Wakandans used. They just about had it figured out. Maybe he could get it where a Peter sized shield would pop up anytime he was about to get shot.

“I’d love to get the shielding working but I don’t think it’s practical in this case. These things are moving too fast.” Peter flipped up another screen. “How about the chain mail. Interesting aesthetic. FRIDAY, did you figure out how much it could absorb?”

“Based on your estimated strength expended and the result it had on your target you would have definitely bruised him, potentially broke bones.” FRIDAY pulled up a screen showing a clip of the fight. “This series I believe an unprotected human would have resulted in several broken bones and a loss of consciousness. This one was knocked down but did not lose consciousness.”

Tony crossed his arms and watched the footage again. “Ok, so absorbs kinetic energy but doesn’t seem to redistribute it like T’Challa’s suit. Is it Vibranium?”

“Negative. Karen and I can both detect Vibranium emissions. Neither one of us detected Vibranium.”

Tony looked at Peter through the screen. “As much as I would love to try to figure this out I don’t think we have time for that. I think we need to call in help. What do you think about sending it to Shuri and see if she can find anything else.”

“I think it’s a good idea. I’ll call her and explain and then send her the files.” Peter could tell his dad was worried. “Look, if he’s hurt like FRIDAY thinks he is, he won’t be out this weekend. I’ll perch somewhere tonight just in case but I don’t think I’ll see him. Fall break is in two weeks. Maybe by then you’ll wrap up all this stuff in Vienna and be back in town?”

“Just keep me in the loop. On everything. How are the other four?”

Peter shrugged. “Right now ok. Johnny and I have a united front so it helps. I’ll let you know if I come across anything tonight. Keep me updated on the accords.” He left the rest of it off. He left off ‘give me a heads up if any of us need to go into hiding.’ “Love you dad.”


	8. Chapter 8

Peter pushed open the door to the house, not surprised to see all four boys in the living room, each with a PlayStation controller in their hands. “Who’s winning?

“I am.” Davis put his controller down as his car cruised past the finish line. “How was your weekend? Take care of your problem?”

“Problem was a little more complicated than I thought.” Peter dropped his bag and threw himself onto one of the sofas. “Got an up close and personal look at the tech so at least now I have a little better grasp on what I’m dealing with.”

Johnny frowned. “How up close?”

“Projectile in the arm.” Peter held his hand up to stop the onslaught of ‘you should have called for help’. “It wasn’t that bad and it gave me something to analyze.”

Wyatt shook his head. “If it breached the Iron Spider it’s a problem.”

Bobby nodded. “I was with you when you and Tony were running tests on the Iron Spider last year. The velocity would have incredibly high in order to breach it. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 2,500 - 3,000 mph. That’s impossible, especially in close quarters.”

“Yeah, I spent multiple hours in the lab at home trying to figure it out because it also has tracer abilities.” 

“Let’s see it.” Johnny pushed himself off the floor and onto the sofa next to Peter.

Grinning, Peter pulled out his phone. “I was hoping you’d say that.” A hologram projected from the surface, enlarging so all of them could see it. Peter played the fight recordings first. 

When the fight playback finished, Wyatt looked up. “I know the lab part is coming next but you’ve got bigger problems than just the projectile. The chain mail is absorbing kinetic energy. I’ve fought by your side enough to know that any one of those hits you landed should have brought him down.”

Peter nodded. “And it doesn’t emit the same readings as vibranium so it’s something new.”

Davis nodded at the screen. “Who’s the guy in red?”

Bobby leaned forward. “They call him the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen. He’s a vigilante that usually roams close to the west side of Manhattan. Interesting that he’s involved. Any idea why?”

Peter shook his head. “None. We didn’t get a chance to compare notes.”

Johnny stretched his legs out in front of him. “Ok. So, ignoring the Devil, we’ve got a projectile problem and an armor problem. Karen, can you order some pizza?” He turned and grinned at Peter. “Let’s see the lab stuff.”

XXXXXXXXXX

Peter jogged up the stairs with his bag. They had actually made some progress on the projectile and chain mail. At the end of the day they were all the type that loved a good science problem. He felt his phone buzz in his pocket and slid it out as he pushed his door open and threw his bag on his bed. “Ned! I tried to reach you all weekend!”

“Really? That’s weird. Except for having to go into the office really early on Saturday I was home. I don’t think I had any missed calls either. But, Betty and mom have been complaining about me missing calls and text too so I might just need a new phone.”

Peter shook his head. “I stopped by your apartment on Saturday. I guess you were still at work. I thought it was a normal office hours job where you could take night classes.”

“It is, but Mr. Kingsley called and asked if I could come in. He had an idea he wanted to test and needed some help.” Ned laughed, “he’s a lot like you and Tony. Ideas come to him at the weirdest times. He was actually in a car accident earlier that night. He said when he was getting checked out at the ER he had an epiphany about a project we’re working on.”

Peter chuckled. He understood Ned’s comment. He and his dad both tended to have epiphanies in the middle of mundane tasks. Pepper always accused them of doing it on purpose to get out of doing something. “Hope he wasn’t hurt too bad.”

“I think he had a couple of broken ribs but he was pretty bruised up. One of his hands was bandaged which is why he needed my help.” Ned paused for a moment. “How’s everything going with Tony in Vienna. The riots look bad but it’s hard to tell with what’s being reported. You know Betty is majoring in journalism. It’s pretty much all they talk about in their classes.”

“He thinks he’ll be there for a while. There’s a chance he makes it back by fall break but I’m not holding my breath. Maybe you’ll have some free time when I’m home and we can hang out.” 

“Definitely, although heads up, Betty may pepper you with questions about Tony and the accords.”

Peter groaned, “Tell her it’s off limits. I do not want to field questions about that.”

“Yeah, you know that’s not going to work. We’ll just get MJ to shut her down.” Ned laughed. “I’ve got to go. It’s late and I have to be at work bright and early. I just wanted to catch up.”

“I’m glad you called. But Ned, take some time to get a new phone. You’ve got a couple voice mails and a dozen text messages just from me. Your mom probably thinks you’re ghosting her.”

Ned laughed. “Yeah, well, sometimes I am. Talk to you later.”

XXXXXXXXXX

Peter glanced down at his watch as it buzzed with a text. He had 10 more minutes of applied physics and generally Karen didn’t alert him unless there was an emergency. 

_“Head home after class. I’m fine. There was an attack in Vienna. Charles and I were able to stop it before it got out of hand. Call me when you get to the car. Be careful. Dad.”_

Peter slid his phone out and used his book to block the map he displayed on the screen. Bobby and Wyatt were in their math class, Davis was at home, Johnny was on his way home. 

_“Dad just texted. Something happened. Get home ASAP.”_

He expanded the map and checked on MJ’s location. She should be at home but sometimes she went to the library to study. Verifying her location he sent her a text. 

_“Stay at home. Something happened in Vienna. I’ll call you in a few minutes.”_

He glanced down as a message came across. 

_“Tony texted me. Call me when you can.”_

Peter forced his leg to stop bouncing in frustration. If this was one of the larger classes he could have slipped out the back. Unfortunately, it was one of his smaller classes and he was pretty sure his professor would notice if he tried to leave. As soon as they were dismissed Peter pulled up a news feed. Iron Man was the first image he saw. Resisting the urge to run to the parking deck he had parked in, he hopped on a bus and continued to pull up news feeds. An anti-mutant group had tried to set off a bomb in a sub level of the building the negotiations were taking place in. 

One of the things that FRIDAY did anytime Tony entered a building was scan for explosives and weapons so Peter wasn’t surprised they had been able to contain it. The fact that his dad still had the Iron Man suit deployed was what was worrying him. He flipped through various reports. The last thing he wanted to do was watch videos but that was most of what was available. He wanted specifics. He finally found a report that had high level bullet points. A group had been staged to attack when the bomb went off. When it didn’t, some of them opted to attack anyway. Professor X had used his abilities to stop them without anyone getting hurt. Peter couldn’t tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing to the general public. He had a vague idea what Professor X could do but had never seen him in action. As he was moving through the crowds on the bus to get off at his stop he heard their murmurs. Apparently no one knew what to make of it. There was some relief that no one had been hurt but there was also a lot of fear at what his abilities meant. As soon as Peter closed the door to his car he hit dial. 

“Hey kid. I’m ok. Are you headed back to the house?”

Peter flipped the call over to video. “You’re still in the suit.”

Tony sighed. “People are a little freaked out about seeing Charles in action. I’m just making sure no one does anything stupid. We’re back inside the building now. I’m not sure how this going to play out so I need you somewhere safe and with backup. Is everyone headed to the house?”

Peter nodded. “I’m picking up Bobby and Wyatt. Davis and Johnny are already there. You think since you’re siding with Charles they’ll take their fear out on you.” It was a statement not a question. “Are Pepper and Morgan at the lake house?”

“Yes. I sent Happy and May with them. Vision and Wanda will meet them there.” Vision and Wanda would be able to provide enough of a defense that Tony felt good about their safety. The fact that he didn’t think anyone knew where the lake house was helped. “Stay together once you get home. I’ll get Nat and Steve to contact you and give you egress options in case you need them. Safe house is probably the best option if you need to make a choice. Davis can portal everyone. Do not engage unless you absolutely have to.”

Peter frowned. “You think it’ll get that bad?”

“I didn’t expect the reaction Charles got. I’m hoping it was just shock and people will start seeing it as a good thing instead of something to be fearful of. Until they do, I need to know you’re safe.”

Peter nodded. “I’m headed home. Be careful and let me know how it’s going.” He paused a moment before adding “You know we’re your best option for backup if you need it. Davis can portal us faster than anyone else can get there.”

Tony nodded. “I’m hoping it won’t come to that.”


	9. Chapter 9

Johnny watched Peter pace the living room. He gave him another ten minutes before he flipped up to the ceiling. He glanced around at the rest of them. He could have predicted their behavior. Wyatt had his phone out alternating between texting Nat and researching the group that had planned the attack. Davis and Bobby had the TV on flipping between news stations covering the story. There wasn’t much they could do other than wait. And none of them would be able to concentrate on anything else until they had more information.

Peter’s phone buzzed and all of them jumped. Peter frowned when he saw the caller ID. “Scott?”

“Hey Peter. I’m assuming you’re all together. Can you put me on speaker?”

Peter flipped the audio over to speaker. “Yes, we’re all together. Any update?”

“Jean and I are headed to Vienna. Professor X and Tony are still putting out fires with the committee. T’Challa is flying in as well. In a way, the terrorists did us a favor. Before the attack, the committee was leaning towards total registration which would have included SHIELD teams. Now, after they’ve seen what the professor can do, they’re open to Tony’s original plan of having a mutant team that would respond to mutant related issues. They’re terrified but they’re open to at least discussing. Jean and I would be on that team so they want us there. I’m not saying we’re in the clear with the committee but we’re closer than we have been.”

Peter looked over at the other four who had let out audible sighs. “Does that mean we’re out of lockdown?”

“There are protests springing up in most of the major cities. We think there’s someone behind them. They’re too well organized. Until we know who’s behind it we won’t know if you’re exposed. So, not on total lockdown but you need to be careful.” 

Peter frowned. “I don’t think it’s Ross. I’m not sure how a big Red Hulk leads an anti mutant movement.”

“We don’t either but he had a couple of people who were close to him that could have taken up the cause.” Scott paused. “We don’t have any solid leads so just stay on alert and stay away from any of the protests.”

“Thanks Scott. Let us know if you hear anything else.” 

Johnny watched Peter hang up the phone and process what Scott had said. The fact that Scott had called instead of Tony meant that they definitely weren’t in the clear. If the order came down for complete registration it wouldn’t be long before they’d have to either comply or run. Running seemed to be the better option because all of the scenarios the media were throwing out had registration ending in an internment camp somewhere. But none of them wanted to spend their life on the run either.

Peter reached down and turned off the news. “I can’t watch any more of this.” 

“I don’t understand why people are so scared.” Bobby leaned back and crossed his arms. “They’re acting like we go around killing babies.”

“They don’t know what we do. That’s the problem.” Wyatt stretched his legs out in front of him. “Think about it. Everything we’ve done has been classified. The general public still doesn’t know about the drug Hydra created that triggered the latent mutant gene. Hell, I’d venture to say that more than half of the world doesn’t think Hydra was ever real or that some of the bad guys we faced were actual threats.” He looked around at the rest of the group. “Other than the original New York attack and Ultron, what else has anyone faced that wasn’t isolated.”

Davis leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. “Or swept under the rug. The prison break out and everything with Zeke and Harry last year was definitely not public knowledge. Maybe creating a publicly known team that specifically deals with mutant threats...”

“No M word!” Bobby grinned at Davis.

Davis simply rolled his eyes and continued. “Maybe a public team is what’s needed. We’re here and not going anywhere. People need to understand it’s not just a few isolated individuals and that not all of us want to hurt other people.”

Peter started pacing again. Davis was right. Maybe a more public team was what needed to happen. Tell the public who was fighting to protect them. That’s what Pepper had done after the fiasco in Sokovia. The Avengers exhibit that had started out at the compound and turned into multiple exhibits across the world. It helped humanize what were very much bigger than life superheros. “I’m not sure any of us are getting a say in how this plays out.” He glanced over at Johnny. “But, until told otherwise I think we’re ok.”

“So let’s stop stressing about something we can’t control and focus on something we can do something about.” Johnny looked up at Peter. “Did the New York Times really give him the name of ‘Hobgoblin’?”

Peter chuckled. “Yeah, I don’t know how they made that leap. Maybe it’s the hood.” He looked around at the rest of his team. “If the protests continue, the chances of them starting Fall Break early is pretty high. I don’t see all of this resolving where I feel like we can confront Hobgoblin as a team but we can work together on ways to combat the tech.”

“Ok, first off, I’m not calling him Hobgoblin. It’s a stupid name. Second, did Karen find out what he stole from the science equipment place?” Wyatt put his phone down on the coffee table. “Maybe it’ll help us narrow things down or give us a hint at what he’s trying to accomplish.”

“A superhalogen. I’m assuming he’s using this as part of whatever is providing the velocity for the projectiles.” Peter stopped pacing and leaned against the dining room table. “Maybe he’s running out of funding. It would explain the robberies.”

“You don’t think he’s got the tech for the purpose of robbing people?” Davis leaned back and put a foot up on the coffee table.

“If I were a supervillain.” Peter stopped when the rest of them laughed. “What?”

“You could never be a supervillain.” Bobby smirked at Peter.

“I said if...why hit the targets he’s hitting. Why not hit a bank? The tech he has isn’t cheap. If your plan is to rob people, the expenditure to do that doesn’t match the pay off.”

“He could make a fortune selling the chain mail alone. What military, police force, or crime syndicate wouldn’t want light weight armor? So why isn’t he?” 

Peter thought about what Wyatt had just said. “They’re prototypes. Prototypes with flaws that he’s trying to fix. We just need to figure out what the flaws are.”

XXXXXXXXXX

Peter crouched on the edge of a building on the west side of Manhattan. Part of him was glad they had canceled classes a week early because of the protests. The Hobgoblin had made another appearance while he was at school, this time putting two NYC police officers in the hospital. They thought they had found a potential flaw in both the chain mail and the projectiles. He wanted to try their theory in person.

The anti mutant movement was still alive and kicking, although some of the protests had died down. His dad, Professor X, and T’Challa were in the tedious process of working out exactly what the amendment stated. He didn’t envy them at all. He just wished they would wrap it up. He missed seeing his dad. He wouldn’t admit it to anyone but he was feeling the weight of being alone in this fight.

Sue was freaked out enough about what was going on that she had talked Reed into leaving the city. Johnny and Wyatt had begrudgingly gone with them. Peter had insisted. Everything was so tenuous with the amendment that the last thing anyone needed was for someone to see Johnny flame up. Likewise, Bobby and Davis had retreated to the safety of the mansion at the request of Professor X. With Jean and Scott still in Vienna, besides Logan, Bobby and Davis were really the next oldest. They had been charged with bringing a little bit or normalcy to the younger students.

He could have gone to the lake house to see Pepper and Morgan, or he could have gone to the compound. MJ had even tried to get him to go with her to visit her parents in Minnesota. But that would have left Miles to deal with the current threat and after the officers had gotten injured, Miles was in no shape to deal with this. He saw their injuries as what could happen to his dad which left an emotionally compromised Spider-Man. So, Peter perched on the roof and waited. This was the second night he had kept an eye out for the hooded foe.

“Peter, the police just received a call about suspicious activity near a manufacturing facility of electrical safety equipment.”

Peter smiled. He loved that they were apparently correct. When he had faced him before he had only used taser webs once. When they had looked at the fight footage again they realized that the physical attacks had moderately more success after Peter had used taser webs. If the chain mail lost some of its protection with an electrical charge the fix was either dampeners like the Iron Spider had or some kind of polymer coating. What better place to find the materials needed than an electrical safety manufacturing facility. Swinging along the path Karen had plotted out, he landed on the side of the building. The plan was to wrap this up before the police got there. Switching the lenses to infrared he found his target inside the building. He had to have known exactly what he was looking for because he was already on his way out.


	10. Chapter 10

Peter waited until his target had exited the building. Checking the taser settings, he verified they were at their highest setting. The tasers would incapacitate an unprotected person within seconds. If the chain mail acted like they thought it did the taser hit should destabilize it enough to for Spider-Man to be able to take the guy down without hurting him. At least that’s what he hoped it did. 

His target emerged from the building right as his Spidey sense triggered. Not the ‘you’re about to get hurt’ one. This one was the ‘someone else is here’ one. He caught a brief sight of scarlet right as a baton struck his target from behind. “Crap.” So much for a quick take down. He flipped off the building landing on the other side of his target. It just happened to be on the wrong side. The general consensus was that the tasers needed to make direct contact with the chain mail which was completely covered from the back.

Daredevil landed multiple punches on their target driving him towards Spider-Man. “Hey Spidey, glad you could join this time. I missed you last week.”

Peter could hear sirens in the distance. He had probably less than 2 minutes to wrap this up before the police got here. Landing a kick on his targets’ back, it forced Hobgoblin towards Daredevil. “My invitation must have gotten lost in the mail.” He had really expected to be dodging projectiles at this point. 

Hobgoblin parried Daredevil’s blows and was forced to move back towards Spider-Man. A side kick delivered to Hobgoblin’s midsection swung him towards Spider-Man. Peter expected projectiles or at least a blade, instead, Hobgoblin scampered away. He glanced over at Daredevil who was moving into position to attack again. “How badly did you hurt him last week?”

Delivering a hit to his midsection with one of the batons, Daredevil moved next to Peter. “I didn’t. I got there towards the end.”

Peter finally saw the opening he needed and fired taser webs, landing them on the exposed chain mail. Following with another kick, Hobgoblin flew across the alleyway. Switching over to regular webs, he moved toward Hobgoblin. Blue flashing lights bathed the alley in a glow that illuminated all three of them.

“Freeze!”

Spider-Man continued moving toward Hobgoblin. He could tell the kick hadn’t knocked him out.

“Spider-Man, Daredevil. You’re not getting another warning.”

Peter frowned. He couldn’t remember the last time he had been yelled at by the police. He moved into position to wrap up Hobgoblin, who was starting to push himself back up. The gloves were still in play so he didn’t want to take any chance. He noticed that Daredevil had moved to his side to help contain Hobgoblin. He triggered the webs that would tangle up Hobgoblin and bring this to an end. Right as he fired, a bullet ricocheted off his shoulder, throwing his aim off. Daredevil dodged out of the way of the bullets that were peppering them. “Why are they shooting at us?” Peter felt another bullet hit his suit. Not waiting for an answer he surged after Hobgoblin who had risen to his feet. 

Peter watched Hobgoblin reach into his pocket and pull something out. Smoke billowed out as the canister exploded. Karen automatically switched his vision to infrared which enabled him to see Hobgoblin pull another device out of his bag. This one expanded to a larger platform that reminded Peter of the hover platform that Osborn used. He filed the ‘probably not a random coincidence’ away and flung a web that would allow him to follow Hobgoblin. 

Swinging out of the alley he noticed Daredevil following from below. He wasn’t sure how much of a help he was going to be. He was struggling to keep up with Hobgoblin with the help of webs. Flinging a web to continue carrying him forward he propelled himself upwards, letting go of the web and firing taser webs at the hovercraft. Not having enough time to fling another web, he landed on the pavement in a roll. Crouching, he surveilling the scene in front of him. He had managed to bring Hobgoblin down on the outskirts of Central Park. 

Peter watched Hobgoblin roll over to his stomach and try to stand. Daredevil skidded to a stop next to him. “We need to not be here when the police show up.”

Peter nodded and walked towards Hobgoblin who had pushed himself to his feet. He could hear sirens approaching. Firing webs he landed them on both of Hobgoblins wrists and pulled. He had intended to just pull him backwards but instead he watched Hobgoblin collapse to the ground. As he fired another web he saw the hood that had shrouded Hobgoblins’ face fall backwards. As the webs landed, effectively securing Hobgoblin to the ground, Peter froze. Lying on the ground, secured by webs wasn’t a faceless criminal. It wasn’t a maniacal supervillain bent on terrorizing New York. It wasn’t an evil genius dedicated to making weapons that would be offered to the highest bidder. Panic seeped through Peter as he yelled. “NED!”

Peter started to run towards the immobile figure on the ground when Daredevil held him back. Peter broke free but Daredevil pushed him backwards. 

“I don’t know who he is but we can’t be here.” Blue lights started flashing on the street, edging closer to them. “Kid. You can’t help him if the police take you down too.” 

Peter felt himself get pushed back again. He forced his eyes away from Ned and focused on the scarlet clad figure in front of him. 

“We need to run. Now.”

Peter felt bullets hit the back of his suit for the second time that night. The concussive impact spurred his survival instinct to kick in. He nodded at Daredevil and flung a web at the closest building using it to scamper up the side. He watched Daredevil take off in the opposite direction. Reaching the top the building he retreated into the shadows. He focused on the figures below him. The police had surrounded Ned’s immobile figure. “Karen...”

“Peter, I believe Ned is just unconscious. Officer Davis has called for an ambulance.”

Peter watched the street below. He could hear the ambulance siren approaching. The lights and sounds were almost nauseating. “Karen, I...”

“Peter. Ned is safe. The important thing is for you to return to the safety of the tower. The police have broadcasted to all units to be on the lookout for yourself and Daredevil related to the events tonight. It is not safe for you to remain here.” 

Peter sucked in a breath. The red lights of the ambulance merged with the blue from the police cruisers. He watched Ned as he was loaded into the ambulance. He didn’t miss the handcuffs on both wrists securing him to the gurney. He didn’t miss the blood on his face. He didn’t miss the EMT’s taking his vitals. His eyes tracked over to the flashing path illuminated in his HUD. It was the quickest, most covert path to the tower. The path Karen was urging him again to take. He could hear some of the conversation from the officers below.

_“...helping. You know what kind of firepower that thing had.”_

_“They’re both vigilantes, menaces, freaks. They should let the police do their job.”_

Peter flinched at every word. _Thing. Menace. Freak._ Glancing at the flashing path again he dove off the back of the roof into darkness.

Landing on the balcony he had no clear memory of actually getting there. He had swung on automatic pilot. He had vague images littering his brain of swinging through alleys, of detouring because of police cars, of his heart thumping in his chest. The door slid open and lights started to trickle on in the common area. “FRIDAY, light off.”

The darkness returned and he walked numbly into the empty room. Retracting the mask he slid down the wall sucking in breaths of air. He felt like he couldn’t get enough air. The gasps for air turned into sobs. His entire body shook as he tried desperately to regain control. He looked around the empty room. There was no glow coming from the kitchen indicating a mug of hot chocolate was waiting for him. There was no one kneeling in front of him forcing him to look at her. There was no team mate sliding down the wall next to him, no one giving him a plan of action. He was completely and utterly alone.


	11. Chapter 11

There was a dent in one of the legs of the dining room table. He and Morgan had gotten a little out of control while playing with a remote controlled car and had crashed it repeatedly into the table. His eyes roamed from the table to the floor. He could see the patterns in the wood. His dad and Pepper had gone back and forth over flooring. His dad had wanted something a little smoother. Pepper wanted something with a little more character. Pepper had won. He could see one of the bullets that had embedded in his suit lying on the floor. Its dull brass almost blended in. 

Despite FRIDAY closing the door to the balcony he could still hear the cars on the street below. His senses were ramped up. He could hear his heart thumping in his chest. He could hear the air blowing through the vents and the hum of the refrigerator. He could taste the saltiness from the tears that had fallen. He tried to remember the last time he had cried like that. When the memory hit him he shoved it back down. He had felt alone then too.

He had no idea how long he sat against the wall. Retracting the rest of the suit he stood up. Compacted bullets hit the floor in an almost pleasant sound. Reaching down and picking them up he walked into the kitchen and deposited them on the counter. Gripping the sides of the countertop he forced himself not to break it. The feel of the solid granite in his hands helped to solidify and focus him. “FRIDAY, can you get me an update on Ned?”

As if anticipating the question, FRIDAY rattled off Ned’s condition and list of charges. He recoiled with every injury FRIDAY listed, burned with anger with every charge. There’s no way Ned was the Hobgoblin he faced originally. “FRIDAY, I need you to expand your original search into Roderick Kingsley. Fill in every gap in his history. I want to know everything there is about him.”

“Of course Peter. Am I looking for anything in particular?”

“Ties to Osborn but I really just want to know who he is.” He had gone over FRIDAY’s initial results but there hadn’t been anything at the time that had made him suspicious. He should have dug deeper.

“Peter...should I contact your father?”

Peter almost laughed. He would like nothing more for his father to be here. He had a way of helping Peter see past his emotions. And, when logic and calmness wasn’t what was needed, Iron Man was always good backup to have in a fight. But, his dad had more important things to worry about. _Freak._ “No FRIDAY.” He glanced at the clock. 5:30 am. Crap, how long had he sat on the floor. “Is Pepper up yet?”

“Yes Peter. Would you like me to call her?”

“Yes.” It only took a moment for the call to connect. 

“Peter, what’s wrong?”

Peter smiled. Despite not sharing DNA, Pepper very much had her own protective maternal instincts towards Peter. “Pepper...I need you.” It was all he could get out. And Pepper seemed to understand. 

“I’ll be there in 45 minutes.”

XXXXXXXXXX

Peter’s leg bounced as he watched Pepper. FRIDAY had briefed her on the way from the lake house to the tower. After making sure Peter was ok she had spent the last hour on the phone. He watched her end the call and place her phone on the kitchen counter. He looked over at her as she sat down next to him on the sofa, his eyes asking the questions his mouth wouldn’t quite form.

“You know you can’t go see him yet. If you show up before his mother is informed it’ll look suspicious. They’ve identified him but haven’t released his name to the public yet which means Mrs. Leeds should be receiving a visit this morning.”

Peter processed what Pepper way saying. Couldn’t see Ned. Couldn’t find out what in the hell was going on yet. He nodded to indicate that he understood and waited for her to continue.

“Oddly enough, he already seems to have a lawyer. And honestly, it’s probably who I would have called anyway.”

Peter frowned. “How could he already have a lawyer.”

Pepper shrugged. “Matt Murdock isn’t your typical lawyer but he’s probably exactly what Ned needs. He’s a wonderful criminal lawyer. My guess is he’s plugged in enough that he found out about the arrest and finds the case interesting enough to want to take it.” Pepper left off the part that she knew all about him because she had researched him previously. She wanted a lawyer handy in case Peter or Tony got arrested. With what they did she was continually shocked that it hadn’t happened yet. Her corporate lawyers were great but none of them would know what to do with a criminal case. Matt Murdock was good. She looked at Peter. “You’re not going to want to hear it but all you can do right now is wait. FRIDAY is still digging into Kingsley. If you go after him without knowing more you run the chance of messing things up for Ned. Mrs. Leeds will more than likely call one of us for help. We just have to wait. When she does, we’ll set up a meeting with Matt. You also can’t break into the hospital to see Ned.” Despite his super strength Peter looked like a lost puppy. “Come here sweetheart.”

Peter melted into Peppers side. He could feel her fingers carding through his hair. She had watched his dad do it enough she knew the calming effect it always had on him. He closed his eyes and focused on her heartbeat. Over the years it had become a part of the sounds he considered home. It’s steady beat and the soothing motion of her fingers gave him more comfort that anything else. Pulling his legs up on the sofa he curled into a ball next to Pepper and waited.

XXXXXXXXXX

Peter jerked awake when Pepper’s phone rang. She slid out from where his head had come to rest on her lap. It didn’t take superhearing to know that it was Mrs. Leeds. He had to hand it to Pepper. She handled her perfectly. Hanging up she looked over at Peter. “I’m sending a car for her. I’ll reach out to Matt and get him to come here.”

Peter nodded and stood up. A wave of anxiety hit him. He was about to have to face Ned’s mother. He was the one who had seen to it that Ned had been arrested. More over, he was the one that had put him in the hospital. The guilt he felt was overwhelming.

“No.”

Peter frowned and looked at Pepper. “No what?”

“You do not get to take responsibility for this. Whatever Ned is mixed up in, you had nothing to do with it.” Pepper crossed her arms and looked at Peter to make sure he understood what she was saying.

Peter took a deep breath and nodded. It didn’t mean he agreed, he just wasn’t going to argue with Pepper. “I’m going to jump in the shower before everyone gets here.” He picked up the bullets as he passed the kitchen. Last think he needed was anyone seeing evidence that he was involved.

XXXXXXXXXX

Peter could hear voices as he towel dried his hair. He had distinctly heard Mrs. Leeds voice and if he were honest with himself he had stalled getting out of the shower. It wasn’t fair to Pepper though so he pulled a t-shirt over his head and left the safety of his room. He had expected just Mrs. Leeds and Pepper so when his Spidey sense triggered he glanced around the room. It wasn’t the normal fight Spidey sense. It was closer to the one he got when Natasha tried to sneak up on him. His eyes landed on the back of man dressed in a suit who had turned his head almost imperceptibly when Peter walked into the room.

“Peter.” Pepper looked up from where she was standing next to Mrs. Leeds looking at a piece of paper in her hands.

Peter crossed the room and hugged Mrs. Leeds. He could tell that she had been crying. After a moment he released her and stepped back, glancing over at the man he had seen from the back. He was surprised to see a pair of red tinted glasses. He truly thought that his dad was the only one that did the whole ‘wear sunglasses because they act as an imaginary barrier between you and other people’ thing. Then he noticed the cane in his hand. Huh...maybe not sunglasses.

“Peter, this is Matt Murdock. He had just started filling Mrs. Leeds in.”

Matt extended his hand to Peter. “Nice to meet you Peter.”

Peter frowned and reached out to shake his hand. “You too Mr. Murdock.”

“Call me Matt, please.” He turned his attention from Peter back to the group as a whole. “I saw Ned this morning. He has no memory of how he got hurt or why he would be under arrest.” Matt shifted slightly in the direction of Mrs. Leeds. “You mentioned that you thought he had been ‘off’ all summer?”

Wiping a tear from her eye she nodded. She glanced over at Peter. “There was an incident last year. He’s had some blackouts.”

Peter’s frown deepened. He hadn’t known about the blackouts. He glanced quickly over at Pepper. He knew Mrs. Leeds had been given a cover story. He could tell Pepper was rolling around the legalities of giving Ned’s lawyer specifics about something that was very much classified. While he thought there was some kind of legal protection in telling Ned’s lawyer, Mrs. Leeds probably did not need to know the specifics. 

“If you can get me his medical records, I’ll see if there’s anything I can use. Meanwhile, we have a bigger decision to make.” Matt cleared his throat. “Once he’s released from the hospital, he will be remanded to custody until his bail hearing. And I’m not overly optimistic that he’ll be granted bail in light of the charges against him so we need to discuss options.”

Peter crossed his arms. He hadn’t even thought this far ahead. “Which are?”

“I think I can make a case to have him held at Ravencroft.”

Peter let out a laugh but then realized it wasn’t a joke. “You’re serious. Ravencroft is like the real life version of Arkham Asylum...”

Matt could tell Mrs. Leeds had no idea what Peter was referring to. Pepper on the other hand did. “It may be the best option for Ned. They do have doctors on staff that can help work out what the problem is. If he’s having blackouts there’s an underlying issue...one we can potentially use. It’s not just a hospital for the criminally insane. I think I can get him admitted to the less secure area.”

“He’ll get help?” Mrs. Leeds waited for the affirmative nod. “Then do it.”

Matt nodded again. “I have some work to do. Peter, do you think you can walk me out?”

“Sure.” He walked towards the elevator, aware that Matt was behind him with his cane extended. FRIDAY opened the doors and waited for both of them to enter before closing the door behind them. Peter studied the man in the compartment with him. There was something familiar about him but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

Matt could tell Peter was scrutinizing him.“Let’s say we get the elephant in the room out of the way...Spider-Man.”


	12. Chapter 12

“FRIDAY, stop elevator.” Peter stared at Matt. “You’re DareDevil.”

Matt smiled. “Now that the formalities are out of the way and we have a whole ‘mutually assured destruction’ thing going on, you and I both know that the Hobgoblin we fought the first time was not the same one we fought last night. Which means Ned is not Hobgoblin.”

“Ok, I know why I suspect that but how did you get there?” Peter crossed his arms and stared at the man in front of him.

“When you asked me how badly I hurt him last time I realized he wasn’t fighting back. He was trying to escape.” Matt paused, “Plus I talked to Ned this morning. Unless he has some kind of Jekyll and Hyde thing happening there’s no way he put two cops in the hospital.”

Peter took a deep breath. “Ok. So what do we do about it. It’s not like we can use that as a defense.”

“We find the real Hobgoblin.” Matt rested both hands on the tip of his cane. “I think you’re further along in your list of suspects than I am so spill.”

“Roderick Kingsley. Ned was working for him. I think the tech was prototypes and he ran out of funding. I just can’t find anything on him. Going to his office is my next step.”

Matt shook his head. “Let me take Kingsley. I’d like for some of the evidence to be admissible in court. You deal with Ned. I can get you in to see him. Let me know if he says anything that may help.”

Peter frowned but nodded. 

“I’m going to need a verbal affirmative. I can’t risk you getting caught breaking into Kingsley office.”

“Oh....yeah...yes. I won’t break into Kingsley’s office.” Peter paused for a moment. “So you’re really blind?”

“As a bat. Whatever hit me when I was a kid enhanced my other senses.” Matt picked up the cane and tapped Peter on the chest. “You move the same as Spider-Man did, although you’re quick. You look like a blur sometimes. And your heartbeat is completely different than most people’s.”

Peter grinned. “That’s pretty cool.”

Matt shrugged. “It’s something. Oh, I also need to know what incident Ned’s mother was talking about.”

Peter frowned, weighing revealing classified information against potentially helping Ned. It really wasn’t much of a decision. “Ned’s mother was told a cover story. There was a group last year working on controller tech for a new batch of super soldiers. Ned was implanted with it in order to ensure they could finish their project and to get to me. SHIELD doctors said they removed it successfully but if he’s having blackouts I have my doubts.”

Matt mulled over the information. “You live in a weird world Peter. The name SHIELD rolls off your tongue like it’s something you deal with on a regular basis.” Matt listened to the slight shift in Peter’s respiration . “Apparently is is. Ok. Call me if you come across anything and give me an hour to get you access to Ned.”

XXXXXXXXX

Peter waited for the police officer standing outside of the closed door to nod his head and move out of his way. Taking a deep breath he pushed the door open. He wished he had been prepared. He thought he was prepared. Guilt swarmed over him as he saw the bruises.

“Peter?” 

He could hear the relief in Ned’s voice. “Hey. I only have about ten minutes. How are you doing?” Door shutting behind him, Peter crossed the room to Ned’s bed. 

Ned looked at Peter. He had been in a daze since waking up, not quite believing everything they were telling him. Seeing the look on Peter’s face sent him into a panic. “Get me out of here.” 

Peter reached over and put a hand on Ned’s shoulder as he struggled against the handcuffs securing him to the bed. “Ned, stop. You’re going to hurt yourself.”

Ned looked up at Peter. “They’re saying I did all sorts of crazy stuff. That I put to police officers in the hospital. You know I would never do anything like that.”

Peter took a deep breath. “Karen, can you make it so they can’t hear us in the hallway.” She had swept the room for listening devices when he had entered. He felt his watch vibrate in affirmative. “All she can really do is generate enough white noise to block them from hearing us so we don’t have a whole lot of time. I need you to tell me everything.”

Ned forced his voice to stay low. “There’s nothing to tell. I didn’t do anything!” Ned watched the pained expression on Peter’s face. “Peter, tell me I didn’t do anything.” He realized what the look on Peter’s face meant. “You stopped Hobgoblin. Peter, you’ve got to believe me. It wasn’t me.” Ned wasn’t sure what he was saying at this point. Of course it was him. He was handcuffed to a hospital bed with bruises that had been given to him by Spider-Man.

“Ned, why didn’t you tell me about the blackouts? I could have done something.”

Ned stared at the sheet covering him. “It was just stress. I’d forget things sometimes.”

Peter shook his head. “Stress might have brought it on but I don’t think it was just you forgetting things.” Peter stared at his friend. “Ned, I don’t know how to help you. The only thing I have to go on is that maybe the controller tech left more damage than anyone thought.”

Ned lifted his head and stared out the window. “Sometimes I’d wake up in my apartment and not remember coming home. Or find myself at work and not remember getting there.” He turned to look at Peter again. “I don’t think I could do the things they’re saying I did, not without having someone else in control like with the controller tech.” He paused for a moment. “Maybe I did do it. I couldn’t override the controller tech even with the safeguards I put in. I still almost killed you. Maybe there’s just a part of me that is like this.”

Peter shook his head. “Ned, I’ve known you since we were five. No part of you is like this. I think Kingsley either realized you were having issues and exploited them or knew about the controller tech and did something to gain control.”

Ned frowned. “Mr. Kingsley? No! He’s a good guy. He’s so smart. His ideas are cutting edge. There’s no way he’s involved.”

Peter felt his watch vibrate signaling that he was almost out of time and that the officer would be coming in soon to tell him to leave. “Ned, I’m almost out of time. Just know I’m trying to help. I talked to your lawyer this morning and he’s trying to keep you out of jail but he thinks the only alternative is Ravencroft.” He watched panic seep into Ned’s face again. “There’s a low security section and I’ll make sure you’re actually getting someone who can help work out what’s going on.” He decided to leave off the fact that the plan was to prove that Kingsley was behind it. He hadn’t expected Ned to still be maintaining the man’s innocence. He glanced back as the door opened. “Ned, I’ve got to go. Hang in there.”

XXXXXXXXXX

Peter stepped off the elevator into an empty floor. He saw a note from Pepper on the counter saying she’d taken Mrs. Leeds home and was waiting with her until her sister arrived. He looked around the empty room. He wasn’t sure what he wanted, he just wished he wasn’t alone. As if on cue, FRIDAY’s voice broke the silence.

“Peter, your father is calling. I’m putting it up on the screen in the living room.”

Peter smiled and walked into the room and sat down on the sofa. “Hey dad.”

“Kid...how are you doing?” Tony had almost started to give him a hard time about him not being able to leave Peter by himself but he recognized the loneliness and pain on Peter’s face.

“This sucks.” Peter assumed Pepper had filled him in on the events of the last 24 hours.

“I know. Pepper is checking on the doctors at Ravencroft. There is a low security ward that Murdock should be able to get him assigned to. We’ll make sure he’s got the right doctor.” Tony paused. “If you want to clear Ned’s name you can’t go after Kingsley yourself.”

“I know. Matt said the same thing. He’s working the Kingsley route.” Peter leaned back and looked at his dad. “How are the accords going?”

“We’re making progress. Charles is trying to figure out a way to introduce his team to the world and show that they’re not something to be feared. If they can’t figure out that part then the amendments won’t matter as much.”

Peter shook his head. “We were having that same conversation a couple weeks ago. Unless we want to start declassifying things, I’m not sure how you accomplish that.” 

Tony ran a hand over his face. “I know.” He studied Peter. “You look tired.”

Peter laughed. “I fell asleep after Pepper got here for about 30 minutes. I’m not sure I could sleep thought.” He looked at his dad. “But you don’t need to fly back just to make sure I get a good nights sleep. Just focus on getting the amendments done so you can come home and work on the PR problem from here.”

Tony realized tired wasn’t exactly the right word. More like worn down. “That’s the plan. Since there isn’t much you can do, why don’t you go out to the compound until you go back to school next week.”

Peter shrugged. That actually wasn’t a bad idea. Since Matt had made it clear he couldn’t help with Kingsley it would make sure he wouldn’t be tempted to ‘help’ anyway. “Maybe.” 

“I’ll take that as a yes. I’ll text Nat and tell her to expect you. That way, if you don’t show up you’ll have to explain it to her.” Tony grinned at the look on Peter’s face at the comment. “I love you kid.”


	13. Chapter 13

Natasha wrapped her hands around her coffee mug. “How was DareDevil?”

Peter shrugged. “Good fighter. You’d like him.”

“We’ve crossed paths.” She saw the questioning look Peter was giving her and decided to elaborate. “I was tracking down some traffickers. So was he. He had it more than handled.” She put her coffee mug down. When Tony had called to let them know what had happened and to expect Peter, she understood what Tony wasn’t saying. They had all been keeping a low profile, but in doing so, they had all essentially isolated themselves. When Peter was at school he was surrounded by the rest of his team. If he had gone to the lake house instead of the city he would have had family with him. In the city he had been alone. It had made the weight of what had happened more crushing. None of them needed to be isolated right now. “Come on, let me show you what I’ve found in Osborn’s files.”

Peter pulled himself upright from where he had been leaning on the counter and followed Natasha. “Does that mean you actually found a connection,”

Natasha shrugged. “Maybe. It has more to do with why your webs slide off.” She glanced over at Peter. “You ok going through this stuff?”

Peter shrugged. “It’s been two years. If I start having nightmares about it again I’ll let dad know.” Peter looked at the boxes lined up on the conference room table. “Why haven’t you all digitized all of this? Surely it would make it easier to go through.”

Natasha shook her head. “We all decided that it wasn’t worth the risk. Tony’s security is good but it always just seemed safer locked up here.”

Peter nodded. His name was all over a large amount of this so he appreciated the caution. He just hadn’t realized how much they had. “You went though all of this?”

Natasha nodded. “After we first retrieved it I read every word. I’ve had to get back into the files a couple times so there is a method to how it’s organized.” She nodded towards four boxes that were nearest to them. “These are the ones that were interested in now. They’re from the time before Osborn figured out who you were. He originally thought he might be able to use Spider-Man’s DNA to help his super soldier program.”

Pete chuckled. “Little did he know I was the super soldier program.” He pulled off the top of the first box. “Ok, what did you find?”

Natasha reached around him. “This.” She pulled out a file and handed it to him. “It’s where he started working on ways to capture Spider-Man. It looks like he analyzed your webbing and came up with a couple different ideas for preventing them from sticking.” She leaned against the table and watched Peter sink into a chair, reading through the notes in the file.

Peter read through the notes. Osborn had spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to take the webs out of the equation. He was two pages into the notes before he realized Natasha had settled into the chair across from him. “I need to let it roll around in my head some but I think I can piece together the anti-stick properties and the kinetic absorption. How does this tie to Kingsley?”

Natasha slid another file across the table. “Roderick Kingsley had a brother.”

Peter nodded as he skimmed the page. “Daniel. He died a couple years ago.” His eyes landed on the page about midway down. The initials DK were next to a note about superhalogens. “Huh...”. He looked over at Natasha. “Can we prove that he worked for Osborn?”

“Not yet. I was thinking about breaking into Kingsley’s offices.” Natasha leaned back in her chair. “I think if we can find similar notes we can make the leap.” She propped her booted feet on the top of the table. “Of course, finding a tie to Osborn doesn’t help Ned.”

“No, but if there’s a tie to Osborn then maybe Kingsley already knew about the controller tech and knew he might be able to control Ned.” Peter looked over at Natasha. “And, you might have company if you break in to Kingsley’s offices.”

Natasha frowned at Peter about to question his comment but was interrupted by Bucky and Steve walking into the room. 

“Peter, you cannot break into Kingsley’s offices.” Steve looked down at Natasha. “Neither can you. If you got caught it’s not good for anyone.”

Peter put up his hands. “I’m not breaking into his office. I already told dad I wouldn’t. I know how much is at stake. Ned’s lawyer doesn’t need to worry about bailing me out too.”

“Who’s his lawyer?” 

“Matt Murdock.” Peter looked suspicious at the smile on Natasha’s face. “You know him?”

“Ned is in good hands.” Natasha looked up at Steve. “He needs to know about the controller tech. He can keep a secret but if there’s something residual it may help Ned’s defense.”

Steve frowned. “I don’t know how any of that gets used and kept a secret. And everything with Hobgoblin has been too public to sweep quietly under the rug.” He looked down at Peter. “Are they getting him any kind of psych evaluation? Maybe we can back channel it through a doctor.”

“Matt’s trying to keep him out of jail until the trial. The only way he thinks he can accomplish that is by getting him remanded to Ravencroft. Pepper is researching the doctors.” Peter sighed. He didn’t love the idea of Ned getting admitted to a hospital known for being home to the criminally insane but he didn’t see another option.

Natasha stood up. “Why don’t you hit the gym with Steve and Bucky. You’re going to need to burn off some energy and let that brain of yours figure out the chain mail.” She glanced up at Steve and Bucky. “I’m going to run an errand.”

XXXXXXXXXX

Natasha pushed open the door, the opaque glass revealing movement on the other side. It had been a while since she had seen Matt. Sitting on one side of the desk with his feet propped up she realized he hadn’t changed much. Neither had his partner Foggy who had scrambled to his feet when she pushed the door open.

“How can Nelson and Murdock help you...I assume you are looking for Nelson and Murdock. Even if you’re not I feel fairly confident we can help....if you need help that is...”. Foggy stammered through the last part, cringing as it came out of his mouth. He glanced over at his partner that did not seem surprised in the least. In fact, the corner of his mouth was slightly curved upward in a partial grin.

“Foggy, give us a minute...”. Matt slid his feet off the desk. Natasha Romanoff had a certain quality. Since meeting her he had always been able to pick out her voice, the way she moved, the way she smelled. “Natasha, good to see you.” 

Natasha rolled her eyes as she sat down opposite of Matt and glanced up at Foggy. “I can’t believe he still uses that line.”

Foggy took a deep breath as he looked between the two. “First you won’t let me come with you to Stark’s and now you’re kicking me out...”. It suddenly hit him who was sitting in the chair he had vacated. “You’re Black Widow.”

He looked over at Matt. “What are you wrapped up in...you know what...never mind...you’re not going to tell me until you need my help.” He reached over and grabbed his coat. “I’ll be at the coffee shop down the street.”

Matt waited for the door to close and for Foggy’s footsteps to fade. “I wondered if you were mixed up in this.”

“Mixed up isn’t the word I would use. More like voluntarily inserting myself into the situation.” Natasha studied Matt. She couldn’t tell if he knew who Peter was although she was leaning towards yes. She doubted Peter would have been so comfortable with Matt if they didn’t share the fact that they had both been responsible for taking down Hobgoblin and were on the same page about Ned. “What’s your plan? Peter said you were taking Kingsley’s office.”

“I didn’t want him running the risk of doing it himself and getting caught.” 

Natasha shrugged. “Fair. Breaking and entering has never really been his thing. It is however in my bag of tricks. And I don’t get caught.”

Matt tilted his head slightly and listened to Natasha’s rhythmic breathing and steady heart beat. Both had increased ever so slightly at the mention of Peter. He hardly seemed her type but she definitely cared about him. It didn’t quite mesh with the Natasha he had known all those years ago. “I do have access to some pretty decent help...”

Natasha shrugged. “Jessica is good but with what’s going on I don’t want to take the risk that she’ll get caught. It doesn’t help Ned.”

“And what is going on? Besides the mess Ned is in. News reports say that Stark is working on something but I haven’t heard exactly what. The word on the street is that we’ll have death squads within the year.” Matt crossed his arms and waited for Natasha’s reply. She was always a challenge to read. Her control was probably the best he had ever seen.

“Stark is working on an amendment to the Accords that should allow for Xavier’s group to self police. Registration should be limited to just the ones that are on an active team.”

“Meaning what? That team hunts down the likes of me? Mutants killing mutants?” Matt knew they had all felt the weight of what was going on in the world. It didn’t keep him from doing what he always did. He always knew his end would come as DareDevil, not as Matt Murdock and he had made peace with that. “Stick always talked about the war but his vision was always too narrow. He never saw the bigger picture. There is a war and it’s been brewing for a while. But it’s not between rival factions in some glorified battle of good and evil. It’s between what is known and what is feared. You and I both fall in the latter category.”

“As long as you keep doing what you’re doing and don’t tread too far on the other side of the law you shouldn’t have any problems. But until there’s something in place and all of this dies down, no one needs to do anything stupid. Which means I’ll take Kingsley’s office.”


	14. Chapter 14

Natasha looked up as the gate on the freight elevator pulled up. “You’ve gotten slow. I almost lost you over on 51st.”

Matt shook his head and pulled the mask off his head. “You knew I was there from the beginning, didn’t you?”

Natasha shrugged. “I figured you’d probably hang around to make sure there wasn’t any trouble so it wasn’t a stretch. I thought it would be safer to look at everything here.”

Matt crossed the room and sat down opposite of Natasha. “What is ‘here’? Queens warehouse district is an odd place for some privacy.”

“Safe house. Tony put it in a couple years ago. Fully stocked medical suite.” Natasha looked back down at her phone and flipped to the next picture. 

Matt tilted his head and listened to his surroundings. “I could have used a place like this a couple times. Wish I’d known it was here. I might have fewer scars.” He turned back to Natasha. “Find anything we can use?”

“Found some notes confirming a couple things. You’ll have to figure out how to use it.” She looked up at Matt, realizing he was focused on her. Steve had grudgingly agreed to give Matt the details to the controller tech. The problem was the controller tech was entangled with Osborn. And Osborn was entangled with Peter.

“I know who he is.”

Natasha smirked. “For future reference what was my tell?”

“When you’re weighing a decision your breathing changes. It’s slight and I only pick up on it because I’ve been around you when you’ve been weighing decisions before.” Matt decided to stop before it got into the uncomfortable territory of the past. Deciding to get back to the point he leaned back. “There’s things I need to know but they’re wrapped up in who Peter is so let’s get that out of the way. He and I both know the others alter ego.”

Natasha nodded, knowing Matt would be able to pick up on the movement. “Kingsley’s brother worked for Norman Osborn. Osborn had off-book contracts to deliver super soldiers. Unknowingly to Osborn, Peter was bitten by one of his test subjects when he was 14.”

“He’s a super soldier?” Matt mulled over what that meant. It explained the strength and speed. He was familiar with what the super soldier experimentation could do, he hadn’t realized it ran as deep or as broad as it did.

“Yes. Osborn ran into a stumbling block trying to deliver so he had the brilliant idea to use Spider-Man’s DNA. He had been researching ways to take him down well before he found out who he was. That’s what Kingsley’s brother was working on.” Natasha paused to make sure Matt was keeping up. “After Osborn disappeared Daniel Kingsley ended up working for the group that was designing controller tech. See, there’s a problem with Super Soldiers, they don’t always obey orders. That was the solution.”

“What’s the status of the Controller tech now?” The prospect was terrifying. The damage that could be done if any of them weren’t in control would make the Hulk’s rampage through Harlem and the destruction from the incident in 2012 look like child’s play.

“We shut down the group that had it. SHIELD is researching the tech.” Natasha paused for a moment. “Ned ended up getting implanted with the controller tech. Peter had been snooping around and they were worried he would stop them before they finished. Ned had also gotten suspicious so he coded in a back door.”

Matt frowned. “Ned was working on the tech?”

Natasha shook her head. “Not knowingly.” She let out a sigh. “Ned has a habit of not being a good judge of character. One of his best friends is Spider-Man who hangs out regularly with Iron Man and the rest of the Avengers.”

“That’s hard to live up to.” Matt paused for a moment. He was curious to get Natasha’s take on Ned. “But you think there’s no way he’s willingly getting involved in these things.”

Natasha shook her head. “He’s a really good guy. Unless there’s something in the controller tech they took out that’s affecting him...”

“We’ll figure out how to get Ned’s doctors looking in the right spot. Maybe we’ll get lucky and they can find something that will help prove Ned was being controlled or at least give a psychological defense. That doesn’t get us any closer to shifting the blame to Kingsley being the actual Hobgoblin. Any chance you found anything proving that?”

“Nothing you can use. Its on a secure server that I could access only because of the tech I have. Even if you could get a search warrant and convinced a judge to let you bring in outside security help to hack into his computer systems and find the buried files they can still make the case since Ned worked there that they’re his files.”

Matt dropped his head before standing up. “I guess hoping for a video of Kingsley giving a soliloquy about his master plan was too much to ask for. I’ll work on drawing him out as Hobgoblin.” He pulled the mask back on. “I’ve got an early morning date with a judge to get Ned remanded to Ravencroft. Let me know if you find anything else.”

XXXXXXXXXX

Peter drove down the tree lined road. He could see an arched gated entrance in front of him. It looked like something out of a gothic horror movie. “Not creepy at all.” He muttered to himself. He stopped at the gatehouse and waited for the guard to come out. Rolling down his window as he approached he looked up at the man, noting the sidearm and taser attached to the mans’ uniform belt. “I should be on the list to see Ned Leeds.” He handed the man his drivers license and watched him disappear into the gatehouse once again. He had been surprised when Matt had called that morning to tell him he had gotten him a pass to visit. He had asked when Ned had been transferred a week ago but hadn’t been overly confident that it would be allowed. He looked up as the guard walked towards his car.

Handing Peter his license back, he hit a button on a device in his hand that triggered the gates to swing open. “Follow this road to the main building. You’ll need to show your ID once inside too.” He stepped back from the car. “Do not deviate from the main road.”

Peter nodded at the warning in the guards’ voice and pulled through the gates. He noticed the electrified fencing that disappeared into the tree line on either side and the cameras mounted on the perimeter and the main road. There was plenty of tree cover provided by the forest on either side of the road but the number of cameras he saw just glancing up as he drove forward meant there probably weren’t many places that couldn’t be seen.

A stately manor appeared on the horizon as he came around a curve in the road. It reminded him of Professor X’s school, although that campus was warm and inviting. Ravencroft was cold, creepy, and definitely uninviting. He kept reminding himself it was a prison and it wasn’t supposed to be ‘inviting’. Pulling into a parking space he made his way to the front door and to the guard in the alcove right as you entered the doors. After getting his name checked off a list, he made his way through a set of metal detectors and into the main room where yet another guard was waiting for him. He looked around as he followed the guard through a door to the left. He had looked at an aerial of the area before coming. The original manor had two wings that had been expanded over the years. The left side was low security. The right side was high security.

The guard left him in a small room. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting but this wasn’t it. The room didn’t quite fit with his surroundings. There was a large window overlooking a grassy area. People were on benches and sitting at tables and even in the grass. They all had electronic ankle bracelets on and he could see guards discretely stationed throughout the area. He turned around and faced the door when he heard someone on the other side of it. He could tell it wasn’t Ned. 

A tall brunette wearing a white lab coat entered the room. “Peter. I’m Dr. Russell. I’ll be seeing Ned while he’s here.” 

Peter crossed the room and shook Dr. Russell’s extended hand. “Nice to meet you.” Pepper had researched the doctors at Ravencroft and had given him the information once Dr. Russell had been assigned to Ned. 

“We typically don’t let our new patients have visitors this soon after arriving but Ned’s lawyer is quite persuasive. I also thought seeing you might give Ned a sense of safety. He’s having trouble adjusting but I think it’s more the underlying problems related to the controller tech.”

Peter nodded. Once Dr. Russell had been vetted through SHIELD, she had been given the file on Ned. “Have you found anything that helps explain the blackouts?”

Dr. Russell nodded. “It’s more than blackouts though. There is some dissociation during the blackouts. I think it’s caused by the brain trying to protect itself while it heals. What he needs is rest and low stress, neither of which he’s gotten much of since he had the tech removed.” She watched Peter process what she was saying. “I agreed to let you see him because I want your help in assuring him that he’s safe.”

“Yes ma’am. I’ll do what I can.”

Dr. Russell nodded. “I’ll bring him in. Wait here.”

Peter watched her retreat from the room. Dissociation. He had a vague idea what it meant and it wasn’t good. He turned his head to the door when he heard footsteps on the other side. A smile spread across his face when Ned entered. The bruises had settled into faded green, blue, and yellow marks across his face.

“Peter!” Ned rushed towards his friend and wrapped him into a bear hug. 

Peter hugged Ned. “Hey! Matt was able to talk your doctor into letting me come see you.” He untangled himself from Ned and nodded to table in the room. “So how is it here?”

Ned sank down into the chair. “Ok.” He looked down at his hands. “It’s a little weird.” Looking up he focused on Peter. “Dr. Russell is nice. Thank Pepper for me. I know she had something to do with her getting assigned my case.”

Peter shrugged. “We all just want to do whatever we can.” He realized he had no idea how to talk to Ned. They couldn’t fall back on comfortable routines of geeking out over the latest movie or science project. “So what do you and Dr. Russell talk about?” He was genuinely curious. Pepper had gotten Dr. Russell to sign non-disclosure agreements under the premise that she was being granted access to SHIELD files as well as Ned being in close contact with a lot of people who held really high security clearances. It would protect Peter if Ned talked about Spider-Man, at least in theory.

Ned looked out the window. “We haven’t talked a whole lot. I’ve had a lot of brain scans and other tests.” Ned looked back at Peter. “I can’t...”. He frowned and looked down again.

“You can’t what?” Peter looked at the way Ned was holding his body. He was tense, his heart was beating a little faster than normal. “You know you can talk to Dr. Russell about anything. And I mean anything. Pepper went all lawyer on her and she’s signed a bunch of documents.”

The expression on Ned’s face changed. “I was worried I might say something I shouldn’t.”

Peter shook his head. “Don’t worry about that. The goal is for her to help you and figure out what’s going on. Matt is working on everything else.” He leaned forward. “Seriously Ned. You’re ok. Don’t worry about me, dad, any of them.”

Ned let out the breath he had been holding. “Are you sure? Because it would be easier if I could talk about Basil and everything else.”

Peter smiled. “Ned...hear me...it’s ok. The important thing is that Dr. Russell figures out what’s going on.” He looked towards the door. He could hear people on the outside. Matt had warned him that he wouldn’t have more than ten minutes with Ned. “Look. I’ve met Dr. Russell. You can trust her. Let her help you. Ok?” He smiled and stood up, waiting for Ned to rise.

Ned nodded. “Thanks for coming to see me Peter.” He looked at the door when it was pushed open by Dr. Russell and an orderly.

“Ned, did you have a good visit with Peter?”

Nodding, Ned walked towards the door. “Thanks Dr. Russell.” He looked back and smiled at Peter. “You too Peter.”

Dr. Russell waited for the door to close before turning back to Peter. “How did he seem to you?”

“Worried about saying something he shouldn’t.” Peter crossed his arms and met Dr. Russell’s eyes. “I know Pepper had you sign a lot of paperwork. I tried to tell him he could trust you. I’m not sure he totally believed me.”

Dr. Russell nodded. “Secrets generally cause more problems than they solve. Hopefully he’ll learn to trust me. Paperwork aside, I wouldn’t betray anything a patient tells me in private.”

Peter nodded. “I know. It’s just hard when your secrets can possibly affect other people. Trusting a therapist is hard.”

“Spoken like someone who’s been through the process.”

Peter smiled at Dr. Russell. “Thanks for letting me see him. If you think I can be of any help, let Matt know.” Pulling open the door he found a guard waiting on the other side of the door ready to escort him out. Winding through the hallways they made their way back to the main room that led outside. 

Sliding behind the steering wheel, Peter sat there staring at the building he had just exited. He wasn’t sure how he felt about the visit with Ned. His Spidey sense didn’t go off with Dr. Russell so he hoped that was a sign that he was right in telling Ned he could trust her. He looked over as a transport van pulled down the road and veered to the right. He could see in the windows and noticed two prisoners. There was something familiar about the shackles they wore. They weren’t regular handcuffs. He couldn’t place it. As the van moved out of sight he started the car and made his way down the long tree line road and back to the main gate.


	15. Chapter 15

Pulling onto the interstate Peter considered his options. MJ wouldn’t be back for another day. Princeton had opted to finish their remaining weeks before Winter Break virtually, citing the students safety as their deciding factor so her parents had asked her to stay another couple days which Peter had fully supported. She wouldn’t be able to see Ned anyway and he didn’t want her mixed up in what was going on. Minnesota was relatively safe so that was where he wanted her. 

MIT was going back but they had extended fall break by a couple days. Sue was grudgingly allowing Johnny and Wyatt to come back to the city but only if they stayed at the tower or the compound with Peter. But, that also wasn’t happening for another couple days. Peter was pretty sure Wyatt was trying to work out Jen coming too. That left Bobby and Davis who had been tied up on what they had started calling ‘babysitting duty’. “Karen, call Bobby.” After a couple rings, Bobby answered. Peter could hear a fair amount of noise in the background. “Hey, I’m about 20 minutes from there. I thought I’d swing by.”

“Do not come here. Somehow the press found out about this place and are camped outside the gate. We’re in the process of portaling everyone to the compound.”

“Seriously?” Peter could hear the tension in Bobby’s voice.

“Do I sound like I’m joking? Just meet us at the compound.”

Peter stared at the road ahead of him. “Karen, can you get any intel on what’s going on at the Mansion?” 

“It appears there are indeed multiple news trucks outside of the gate. I believe Captain Rogers instructed them to portal to the Compound.”

Peter sighed as he changed lanes. The compound was 30 minutes in the other direction.

XXXXXXXXXX

Peter crossed his arms and looked at the group of people in the common area. Natasha was with a group of younger children, giving them a tour of the area they’d be calling home for at least a couple days. Bucky was talking to one of the older boys. Peter thought his name was Doug. Bucky was currently on language 24 of the 32 languages he knew. So far the boy could understand all of them. Sam was talking to Warren, probably about flight abilities. For as snarky as Sam could be be was always interested in trying to figure out ways to improve his control of the EXO harness. Bobby and Davis had disappeared earlier. He thought they had probably gone into the command center with Logan and Kitty to try to reach Jean, Scott, and Professor X. The rest of the students were sitting in groups talking amongst themselves.

Steve walked over to stand next to Peter. “Tony’s on the way home. He said he’d call you once everything died down.”

Peter turned to look at Steve. “Did they get the amendments ratified or are they coming home because of this.”

“Both. They were able to play on the council’s sympathies. No one likes the idea of children being harassed, even if they are mutants.” Steve sighed. “They’ve got a hell of a job to do to get people over the fear that’s been stirred up.”

“The world was able to get comfortable with Bucky and a couple rogue Avengers, surely they can get comfortable with this.” Peter doubted the words even as they came out of his mouth. “I’m going to track down Bobby and Davis.”

“Try the Ops room on the third floor.”

Peter nodded and retreated to the stairwell. Jogging up the stairs, he pushed open the door. He could hear voices from the ops room at the end of the hall.

“This is only going to get worse. The amendment is worthless if people still think we’re freaks and something to be scared of.” Logan glanced over at the door as Peter walked in before looking back at Bobby who was sitting in one of the chairs in front of the monitors. “It was bad enough when they were grabbing people off the street who used their abilities. It won’t be long before the reporters outside those gates are replaced with a SWAT team.”

“Don’t you think I know that? The only chance we have is to figure out who’s behind the movement. Once we figure that out we can work on the rest of it.” Bobby leaned back and crossed his arms. “But until then, any show of force is not going to go over well.”

“Fine.” Logan looked back at Peter. “Where’s the closest bar?” 

“Luc’s. Take a left when you leave the compound. You’ll run into it.” Peter moved to the side to let Logan out of the room. Hearing the stairwell door slam open he looked back at Davis and Bobby. “He does realize you all portaled here, right?”

Davis shrugged and pulled himself away from the desk he was leaning against. “He’ll just go growl at Steve and get him to give him the keys to his motorcycle.”

“At this point Steve may want to go with him.” Bobby stood up from the chair he had been sitting in. “Did you see Alex down stairs? Scott is being the typical big brother and wanted to make sure he was ok.”

Peter nodded. “He was with a group of students. None of them seem worse for wear.”

Davis laughed. “I don’t care what else is going on, a field trip to see the Avengers is cool.”

Peter rolled his eyes but laughed. “Is dad with Jean, Scott, and Professor X?”

Bobby shook his head. “Scott flew one of the Blackbirds over.” He paused for a moment. “How was Ned?”

Peter shrugged. “Ok. Hopefully getting help. Dr. Russell seems nice. His lawyer is working the Hobgoblin route so between the two maybe they can work out a defense.”

“I wish you would have let us help. You didn’t have to do what you did alone.” Bobby crossed his arms and looked at Peter. 

“With what’s going on none of you needed to be involved. The police shot at me...your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man...it would have spun even more out of control if there had been more of us.” Peter offered up a forced smile. “Do we have any leads on who’s behind the anti-mutant movement?”

Bobby accepted the change of subject and shook his head. “I think Steve was talking to Scott about doing an ops review once they got back. I’m not even sure we’ve ruled anyone out.”

“The general consensus is that who ever is rounding up mutants probably has them all in once place. There’s no record of the ones we’ve seen getting booked into local jails or hospitals.” Davis shook his head. “It baffles me as to why no media outlets are picking up on that.”

“I think a lot of reporters stopped being reporters a long time ago.” Peter nodded to the door. “Let’s go make sure the Avengers aren’t outnumbered.”

XXXXXXXXXX

Peter’s phone buzzed. Smiling he connected to the video call. “Please tell me you’re on your way home.”

Tony smirked. “I’m about three hours out. I’ll be there by dinner time. How was Ned when you saw him this morning?”

“Ok. He’s worried about revealing secrets. I told him Pepper had his doctor sign non-disclosures so he was free to say whatever he needed to.” Peter sucked in a breath. “It’s what he needed to hear but we need to be prepared that it leaks that I’m Spider-Man.”

Tony nodded. “Pepper and I discussed it when she was having the lawyers draw up paperwork. We’re all on the same page but I do agree with you that it’s what Ned needs. We’ll deal with whatever happens.”

Peter smiled. “On another note, be prepared for a little bit of chaos. I think Bobby and Davis are done with being babysitters. There’s only so much Nat, Steve, Bucky, and Sam can do. Nat called Clint for backup. He’s bringing his kids.”

Tony laughed. “Charles isn’t too far behind me. He should be able to get everyone to behave.” His expression sobered. “When I talked to Steve earlier he said that since everyone was at the compound he wanted to do an intel meeting. Is that still on?”

Peter nodded. “Tomorrow morning. Pepper ok with you staying here until tomorrow?”

“Unless I can talk you into coming to the lake house I’m probably staying at the compound until you head back to school.”

Peter nodded. “I’ll be back in something like two weeks. I’ll have plenty of time to spend at the lake house. I’d like to see if we can make some progress on finding out who’s behind everything.”

Tony chuckled. “That’s what I thought you’d say. See you in a couple hours. I love you kid.”

“Bye dad, love you too.”


	16. Chapter 16

Peter sat at the table, Bobby and Davis to one side, his dad on the other. The rest of the Avengers, Charles, Jean, Scott, and Logan filled in the rest of the chairs. They had figured out quickly that it really wasn’t an intel or ops meeting...it was a brainstorming meeting. They had zero intel, no targets, no ops to plan. Instead, they were throwing everything they knew up on the board. Ross, the super soldiers, the various factions that had popped up with the anti-mutant movement, and multiple individuals within the government and military that had been outspoken against a potential mutant threat. The only thing that thought they were sure of was that it was originating in the U.S.

Natasha flipped through surveillance photos, identifying possible targets. “This isn’t going to get us anywhere. Let’s look at what’s happened since the incident at Rikers,”

Davis leaned back and crossed his arms, “Do we know who’s ordering the SWAT team grabs?”

Steve shook his head. “Most of them have been in communities that have leadership that’s been vocal about mutants, and not in a good way. FRIDAY, can you bring up the video from the captures the press has caught?”

Video filled the screens lining one wall. Steve looked over at Charles. “Have you been able to identify any of them?”

Charles shook his head. “Some of them were individuals identified from the Terrigen drug but we never had names to go with them. Others we believe have abilities that emerged naturally.”

“Ok, that that at least tells us they’re not targeting one segment or another.” Natasha watched the videos for a moment but shifted his attention to Peter who had grabbed a tablet and was working on it. 

Scott leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “We can’t rule out that it’s another mutant.”

Tony frowned. “A mutant stirring up anger against mutants?”

Scott nodded. “There are some that are a little zealous in their belief that they’re superior. That they’re the next evolution of humanity.”

Natasha watched the expression on Peter’s face. Pushing back from the table, she stood up and walked over to where he was still looking at the table. “What did you find.”

Peter looked up. “The shackles.”

Jean frowned. “We believe they suppress a mutant’s abilities.”

Tony filed away the ‘How’ question for later. He turned to look at Peter. He couldn’t quite decipher the look on Peter’s face. “Let me see...”. He took the tablet from Peter and looked at what he had pulled up. A video of two mutants getting grabbed that ended up demolishing an abandoned house and a list of doctors at Ravencroft. “What’s the connection?” He looked back up at Peter. He noticed the tension in Peter’s jaw. 

“When I was leaving yesterday I had to wait for a passenger van to leave the main road. I could see two prisoners in the van...both wearing the same shackles. I couldn’t remember when I’d seen them before until the videos started playing.” 

Scott frowned. “Leaving where?”

“Ravencroft.” Peter stood up and walked towards one of the screens. “FRIDAY, pull up the aerial and see if you can locate building plans.” He watched the aerial appear in the screen. “Ravencroft is divided into two sections - low security to the left and high security to the right.” He pointed to the road that branches off from the main road to the right. “The van took this road and I lost it about here.” He tapped the curve in the road.

Jean leaned forward. “Why would they hold mutants there?”

Peter shrugged. “Depends on why they want them but it’s secure and secluded with infrastructure in place.”

“So why do they want them?” Steve leaned back and looked at the group surrounding the table. 

Charles tapped his fingers together. “A better question to start with may be who wants them. Peter, may I see the list of doctors on record at Ravencroft?”

Peter took the table back and walked it over to him. “We didn’t look at any of the doctors on the high security side when we were vetting them for Ned. Recognize any of them?”

Charles shook his head as he looked down the list of names. “Not by name, but they could be using an alias. Can we see images of each doctor?”

“FRIDAY, start pulling images of the doctors at Ravencroft.” Tony stood up as pictures started filling the screens, replacing the images of mutants being subdued and carted off. He looked down at Charles who had joined him in front of the monitors. “Recognize anyone?”

Charles moved in front of one monitor and studied a picture. “Can you access this man’s history?”

“FRIDAY, you heard the man.” Tony crossed his arms and waited for FRIDAY to generate the information. A brief resume appeared on the screen.

“Dr. Robert Windsor has been affiliated with Ravencroft for several years. Prior to that he worked at several psychiatric hospitals across the United States.”

“Thanks FRIDAY.” Tony looked down at Charles. “You recognize him?”

“Maybe, but he hasn’t changed. There was a genetics professor at Oxford. I found him unsettling. I couldn’t read his mind. That was in 1972. Perhaps his son or maybe a much younger brother?” 

“Or he doesn’t age.” Logan stood up and joined Charles at the screen. “Is this all we have on him?” The information that had joined the picture on the screen was sparse.

“We’ll dig a little deeper. FRIDAY, see what you can find on genetics professors at Oxford in 1972 and see what else you can find.” Tony looked over as Scott rose and joined them at the monitor.

“Scott...”. Charles could feel waves of apprehension from him. “What is it?”

Scott shook his head. “I don’t know. There’s something familiar about him.” He frowned at the picture, he found it disconcerting that the man seemed so familiar and he didn’t know why.

Tony glanced over at Peter and realized that he, Bobby, and Davis were looking at the aerial. He walked over and leaned against the table next to Natasha. “What’s the smile for?”

Natasha nodded to Peter. “Confirmation that he actually listened.” She pulled herself away from the table and walked over to the boys in time to hear Peter rattle off the how many cameras he spotted and the positioning of the guards. She smirked at Tony as he went through not only the weapons the guards carried but also what type of vest they wore.

Tony shook his head and followed Natasha. “You can’t go in.”

Peter frowned. “Why not. We all think he’s involved. Going in gives us an idea as to what’s going on.”

“I get that. But you...Ned Leed’s friend...can’t go in.” Tony crossed his arms and looked at Peter. “Think it through.”

“Peter isn’t going. Bobby and I can portal in.” Davis enlarged the aerial focused on the right wing. “FRIDAY, any luck with building plans?” Building plans overlaid the aerial. “We need a file room or maybe his office.” 

Bucky walked over and studied the plans. “Peter, does the right side match up with what you saw on the left?”

Peter expanded the building plans and studied both sides. “If they’re set up the same way there should be a nurses station as soon as you go through the doors. I went down the hallway closest to the outside. The room I met Ned in was about half way down. It had windows overlooking a grassy area.” He looked back at the right side. “The plans match. Can’t guaranty the use is the same.”

Bucky nodded. “There are windows on that exterior wall. You’re not going to give prisoners windows. My guess is that these are offices.” He glanced over at Natasha who was nodding in agreement.

Davis looked back at the plan. “Ok, so we portal into the room that matches the room Peter was in on the left side. Hopefully it’s a similarly used room there too. Once we’re safely inside we’ll find Dr. Windsor’s office and see what we can find out.”

Tony looked back at Steve. “Thoughts?”

“I’m tired of being behind the eight ball on this. They should have no idea anyone is coming and worst case Davis can just portal them back out.” He stood up and walked over to the building plans. “We can run ops from here.”

Peter shook his head. “I would feel better if some of us were staged closer. That way if there is a problem we can go in.” He understood why he couldn’t go it, but he didn’t want to be 30 minutes away if something went sideways.

“Ok. You and I can wait for them here.” Tony tapped a section of the aerial outside the perimeter wall. “Close enough to go in to save the day if we need to.” Tony glanced over at Charles. “Thoughts?”

“It’s worth the risk. The quicker we find out who’s stirring up the problems the quicker things return to normal.” Charles looked over at Steve. “May we join you in ops?”

Steve nodded. “Of course.”


	17. Chapter 17

Tony eased the car to a stop and put it into park. Turning around he looked at Davis and Bobby and watched them adjust their ear pieces. “If you see anyone, portal out immediately. I would much rather try to get the information another way than have to come in and rescue you. Understand?” He waited for both boys to nod before turning back to Peter. “Anything to add?”

“Just be careful.” Peter paused and looked at Davis and Bobby. He really wished he was going with them but if they got caught his being there could be construed as an attempt to break Ned out. “You’re looking for anything to clue us in as to who this doctor is as well as anything on the inmates and what they’re doing. Did I mention be careful?”

Davis nodded. “We will be fine. We’ll portal out before anyone sees us.” He opened the door and got out, the other three following. “Steve, can you hear us?”

_“Affirmative. We’re receiving video too. Like Tony said, you see anyone portal out.”_

Peter thought he detected an eye roll from Davis. “Don’t get caught.” The familiar blue portal opened and he watched Bobby and Davis disappear. 

Tony pulled up the video display from Davis on his phone. “So far so good.” They had entered into a darkened room. He watched the boys make their way to the door and Davis opening it enough so he could see into the hallway.

Peter realized quickly that he hated being on this side of the video. Leaning on the hood of the car next to his dad he drummed his fingers on the hood. “How do you do this when you’re not on a mission?” The one or two times Tony hadn’t been on a mission with Peter he had watched in ops. Watching was driving him crazy. He pulled himself away from the hood of the car and paced in front of it instead.

“Maybe now you’ll have a little more sympathy for me instead of just getting annoyed.” He tapped the video and it sprung up into a hologram projecting from the face of his phone so Peter could see it. He pulled his eyes away and looked at Peter who was still pacing in front of him, eyes glued to the hologram. Looking back down he saw Davis and Bobby open a door. “Looks like they found his office.”

Peter watched the two separate, Bobby sitting down at the desk to go through drawers and Davis pulling open a file cabinet. He definitely didn’t like being on this side of the camera. Davis was the only one with a camera so unless Davis turned around he couldn’t see Bobby.

_“He’s old school. Calendar is on his desk, not digital. He’s got blocks of times with names. Ray, Hope, Lance, Jonas, Mort, Sarah, Ray. Maybe patients he’s working with?”_

Tony focused on the file drawer Davis had opened. It was full of old folders with handwritten labels. “Davis, anything interesting?”

_“Some of this information goes back into the 1800’s.”_ Davis paused a moment. _“Scott, what was the name of the orphanage you grew up in?””_

_“State Home for Foundlings in Omaha.”_

_“That’s what I thought. There’s a file with that name.”_ Davis opened the file and started reading.

“Don’t take time to read it. We can enhance the video and pull stills.” Tony watched Davis flip pages in the folder, knowing FRIDAY would already be transcribing the information on the pages. When he was finished he waited for him to slide the folder back into place. “What else you got?”

_“A lot of folders with project names Psyche, Nietzsche, Rebirth...hey, isn’t that Cap?”_

Tony watched Davis’s head pop up abruptly and turn towards the door. Hearing an string of hushed expletives, he watched Davis put the folders back in and quietly close the file drawer. A portal opened and everyone watching Davis’s video feed saw him look back at Bobby as the door started to open. Tony knew there was no way Bobby could reach Davis before the door completely opened and he was exposed.

_”Davis...go!” Bobby hissed. “GO!”_

Tony glanced up at Peter, who had stopped pacing. That was the plan. If they got separated, Davis had been instructed to portal out. That way he could portal Tony and Peter back in to extract Bobby. A blue portal opened in the clearing, as it closed Davis turned around ready to open the portal again. 

_”WAIT! We’re still getting audio. It’s muffled but FRIDAY is registering sound and it doesn’t sound like he’s been seen.”_

Tony listened to his earpiece. “Anything.” He couldn’t hear anything from Bobby’s side.

_“No, it’s weird. It’s very muted.”_

Davis looked over at Peter. “We’ve got to go back.” The Iron Spider was already deployed and he knew Peter felt the same sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach.

“Cap...I’ve got two very anxious Avengers ready to go storm the castle...anything?” Tony looked over at Peter. Despite having the mask on he could tell how worried he was just by the way he was holding his body.

_“Do not portal in unless we get confirmation that he’s been captured or an all clear.”_

Tony fought the urge to deploy his own suit. He was just as worried about Bobby but the last thing Peter or Davis needed was additional worry. He frowned when Peter jolted slightly and turned to look at what seemed to be an empty spot in the opening. It looked like fog rolling in over the surface of the grass. Tony startled as Bobby reformed from the mist. 

Bobby collapsed to his hands and knees and then onto the ground, rolling onto his back. He patted up his body, confirming that he was all there. He opened his eyes and looked up at Peter and Davis. “I panicked.” He adjusted to look up at Tony, who had joined the other two in leaning over him. “On the plus side, I can go full vapor and resolidify. Only downside is the extreme fear and exhaustion.”

Peter reached down and grabbed Bobby’s hand, pulling him to a sitting position. “You’re ok?”

Bobby nodded. “The earpiece obviously didn’t vaporize. I tried to push it under the desk but I’m not sure I was successful.” He looked at Peter. “That was weird. I was there but I wasn’t there.” He hesitated for a moment. “I am here, right?”

Peter shook his head and chuckled. “Yes. You are here. Ready to go back to the compound?”

Bobby nodded and put both hands up to Peter and Davis to pull him up. “I’m ready to sleep for a week.”

Tony looked at Davis. “Why don’t you portal him to MedBay and let Dr. Cho check him out.”

Davis nodded and opened a portal. Grabbing Bobby’s arm he stepped into the portal and disappeared.

Peter walked around to the drivers side. “I’m driving. I can get back faster.”

Tony shook his head and got into the passenger seat. “Good, I can critique your driving and make sure everything Natasha and Bucky taught you is sticking.”

XXXXXXXXXX

Natasha frowned when Peter and Tony walked into the ops center. She glanced down at her watch. “I’m assuming Peter drove?”

“Nice.” Tony crossed his arms and looked at the screens. “What did we get?”

Steve looked up from the screen. “More than we anticipated. It’ll take us a while to go through and research the connections. FRIDAY transcribed the pages Davis got shots of...there’s something you need to see.” He handed Tony a tablet with the information. “Scott’s name is all over the Omaha file. He’s trying to make some sense of it.” Steve crossed his arms and looked at Tony and Peter. “The notes in the Omaha file are all about experimentation on mutants. The project files are all Super Soldier projects.” Steve nodded at Bucky who was sitting at the desk with Natasha. “From the glimpses of the few pages Davis got on the projects, Bucky and I are mentioned in those files. We’re just not sure if this is about experimenting on mutants or creating super soldiers.”

Peter took the tablet from his dad. “Any leads on the names Bobby saw on the calendar?”

“Xavier is cross referencing against the information he has. The fact that it’s just first names is proving to be difficult. If he can get back to the mansion he has better access and might be able to find more.” Natasha stood up. “If Davis is up for it, Charles wants to see if he can portal them back to the mansion.”

Peter nodded. “Johnny and Wyatt are headed back to the city. I think Amanda is with Johnny. I’ll redirect them here and we can regroup once everyone has had time to digest everything.” He looked over at his dad. “I’m going to go check on Bobby. I’ll tell Davis he’s needed down here.” FRIDAY had given them updates on the drive back but he wanted to see him for himself. Manipulating the molecules in order to change into vapor was a pretty big accomplishment and he knew how freaked out Bobby had been. He knew he had gotten a clean bill of health but he wanted to see for himself.


	18. Chapter 18

Peter stood under the overhang and watched Reed’s plane land. It was similar in design to the Quinjet although he knew its engines were slightly faster. The idea was to eventually make it capable of traveling out of Earth’s atmosphere. Peter watched the ramp lower and Reed stand to the side to let his passengers out. Johnny alighted first followed closely by Wyatt and Jen...and MJ. A smile spread across his face when he saw her. 

“What are you doing here?” Peter wrapped MJ in a hug. “I thought you were going back to the city?”

MJ shrugged. “You’re here. Plus if you and Wyatt are ‘working’ someone has to entertain Jen and keep her out of trouble.”

Peter reached down and picked up her bag, he glanced over his shoulder and saw Amanda had joined them. He nodded at Johnny and Wyatt. “I’ll get MJ and Jen settled, I think everyone is in the command center.” Peter grabbed Jen’s bag from Wyatt and watched them make their way into the building. Turning back to the girls he fell in step behind them. “I’m not sure how long this is going to take. You two might have been better off heading back to the city.”

MJ shrugged. “A lot has been going on and I haven’t seen you in a while. I wanted to make sure you’re ok first.”

Peter smiled. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad you’re here.”

“We’ll head back to the city tomorrow and let you all do whatever it is that you’re going to do.” 

Jen smirked. “So is Matt Murdock really Ned’s lawyer? I wonder if he needs any help. An internship with him would look great on my resume!”

Peter stifled back a laugh. MJ had given him a heads up that Jen was trying to figure out a way to get an internship with Matt. Peter had spent enough time with Jen to know that neither Matt nor his alter ego was a match for Jen. She was like a dog with a bone when she set her mind on something. “Yes. Matt is Ned’s lawyer.”

Jen almost squealed with excitement. “You called him Matt. You’re on a first name basis with Matt Murdock...that’s awesome.”

Peter rolled his eyes and glanced over at MJ who was trying not to laugh. He pushed open a door and dropped Jen’s bag inside a bedroom before continuing down the hall and pushing open another door to deposit MJ’s bag. “Are you two sure you’re ok on your own?”

“Relax Peter. We’ll be fine. Go do your thing. We’ve got a couple research projects to work on.” MJ leaned over and gave Peter a kiss on the cheek and waited for him to retreat down the hall.

XXXXXXXXXX

Peter pushed open the door to the command center and paused for a moment to adjust to the auditory input of too many different conversations happening at the same time. 

“Are MJ and Jen settled?” Wyatt walked over and joined Peter by the door. He had been surprised by the number of people at the compound. Usually when they were in the command center it was the five of them, Tony, Steve, Natasha, and maybe one or two others. The number of people in the room right now very much reminded him of the briefing before they breached Rikers to rescue Peter. It was hard to believe that was less than six months ago.

“They’re good. MJ said something about a research project.” Peter glanced around the room. “What are we doing?” Usually Steve and Natasha ran tight briefings. What was happening now wasn’t anywhere near tight. The tension was almost palpable. 

Wyatt shrugged. “I have no idea. Everyone seems on edge. Even Steve and Tony.” He nodded over to one of the groups that consisted of Steve, Natasha, Tony, Bucky, and Sam.

Peter frowned. “Well, let’s find out.” He made his way over and nudged his dad with his shoulder. “What’s going on? This is...”

“A mess. We know.” Tony looked over at Peter. “They figured out who the doctor is and it’s sent Charles and Scott into a tailspin. It’s not helping that everyone was on edge anyway.”

Steve glanced around the room. He knew he had let it get out of control. There were groups scattered around the room, all formulating their own opinions and plans of action. Too many ghosts from the past had distracted him and this was the result. Stepping back from the group, he walked to the front of the room. “Find a seat. Now.” He knew he sounded like a drill sergeant but it served it’s purpose as the groups broke up and made their way to chairs around a large conference table and seating that lined two walls. He glanced over at Natasha who had joined him and was in the process of putting information up on screens.

“Dr. Robert Windsor.” Steve walked over to the main screen and looked at the Ravencroft ID badge displayed on the screen. “With the intel retrieved by Bobby and Davis and some digging, we think he’s behind not only the anti-mutant movement but also the one responsible for rounding up suspected mutants.” He took a deep breath and glanced over at Charles before continuing. “We believe he’s experimenting on them, although we’re not sure why. With the discovery of the super-soldier files it’s possible that it’s an ongoing project to perfect a super soldier.”

Natasha added pictures to the screen and walked over to the first one. “This is Nathaniel Essex. Also know as Robert Windsor and probably some other names we haven’t uncovered yet. And yes, this is a picture from 1908.” She waited for the murmurs to die down. Any other room of people and she would have had to wait longer but considering there were three people in this room that were almost as old it wasn’t anything overly shocking. She pointed to the next picture. “This is circa 1972, Oxford University.”

“He was a genetics professor. I found it disturbing at the time that I couldn’t read his mind. I was younger and never really took into account what that meant.” Charles nodded at Natasha to continue.

“Next up is early 1990’s. Location, State Home for Foundlings in Omaha, Nebraska.” Natasha looked over at Scott. She knew he hadn’t slept since Davis had discovered the file. 

“I grew up in this orphanage. The good doctor apparently blocked any memory of him from my mind. The professor has been able to help me break though some of the blocks but it’s all still fuzzy.” Scott frowned. “Best guess is that he was experimenting on kids with mutated DNA.”

Tony glanced around the room. Experimentation in children didn’t sit well with anyone. There were some audible growls as well as the normal telltale signs of anger, a flash of scarlet in Wanda’s eyes, a brief flush to Johnny’s skin, Peter’s jaw clinching. It wasn’t surprising, being protective of those who couldn’t protect themselves was almost a job requirement.

“So we’re going in, right?” Kitty glanced around the room at the group assembled. “We can’t continue to let him experiment on mutants.”

“If it were just mutants at Ravencroft we’d already be on the ground.” Steve looked around the room. “We got into Ravencroft’s computers last night. There are 82 prisoners in the low security wards and another 36 on the high security side. Not to mention at any given time about 100 nurses, doctors, and security guards. A direct assault is out of the question.”

Natasha cleared her throat when everyone’s displeasure rumbled through the room. “That’s not to mention the mutants that are off books who may or may not be of any help. We’ll work on getting people on the inside. When we’re sure we can go in without compromising security we’ll move. The last thing we need is to be distracted by having to recapture all of the normal criminals.” She almost cringed when she said normal criminals. She knew this was hitting too close for Peter and the fact that she had just lumped Ned in with ‘normal criminals’ probably wasn’t helping. “Until were ready, we’ll continue to gather intel and do what we can to avoid any other mutants getting grabbed.”

Steve looked back at the group. You all have assignments on your tablets. We’ll keep everyone apprised of any intel we receive.”

Peter looked at the tablet on the table in front of him. Normal procedures was that the team leader had the assignment details and then disbursed to the team. There was no assignment on his tablet. He looked over at his dad. “Wheres our assignment?”

Tony shook his head. “Your assignment is school. You’re back at MIT in three days.” He put up his hand to stop the protest he knew was coming. “Seriously, what is it that you think you can accomplish? You’re not blowing off the rest of the semester. It’s literally three weeks and then you’re back for Christmas break. By then we should be ready to make a move.” He looked up at the four others who were standing behind Peter now. “School. We will keep you apprised.”

XXXXXXXXXX

“This sucks and you know it.” Bobby threw himself onto the sofa in the common area.

Peter watched his team. He was thankful MJ and Jen were working in one of the smaller conference rooms and not here. They both had security clearance but it didn’t mean that they included them on ops discussions. He 100% agreed with Bobby that this sucked. He just couldn’t say that. Instead he sighed, “They’re right about not doing a frontal assault. I saw the list from the high security ward. If any one of them escaped the body count would be on us. Everyone can gather intel and make sure that no other mutants get grabbed. We somehow make it through finals, come back home, and put a stop to this.”

Johnny stopped pacing long enough to growl. “Agreed. It sucks but going in is reckless.” He glanced over as Kitty and Amanda walked in.

“Or we go in undercover.” Amanda leaned on the side of the sofa and looked around the room. And saw the looks on their faces and knew she wasn’t getting any support for her idea. 

Kitty crossed her arms and stood next to Amanda. They had discussed this on the way to the common area. They knew they wouldn’t get any support from the adults but they thought they might from the boys. She looked at Bobby and Davis. “That could be any one of us. They’re experimenting on them.”

Amanda glanced around at the five boys. “You know I know what it’s like to be used. We need to stop this before someone gets hurt any more than they already are.”

Johnny shook his head. “Neither one of you looks old enough to pass as a nurse or even a guard.”

Amanda shook her head. “That’s not what I’m talking about.” She looked up at Johnny and watched him process what she had in mind.

“Hell No!” Johnny looked over at Peter, realizing he hadn’t figured out what they were talking about. “They want to get captured.”

In unison, all of the boys answered. “No!” Peter crossed the room until he was standing in front of Kitty and Amanda. “We all have a pretty good idea what they’re doing to the mutants they’ve taken and none of it is good. I will make sure you’re on the mission when we go but for now just stand down.” He softened his tone a bit. “We’re out of it too. None of us like it but it’s too much of a risk to do anything else.”

Amanda shook her head. “It’s too much of a risk to wait.”

Johnny reached over and pulled Amanda around to face him. “You are not doing this. It’s too dangerous.”

Amanda pushed Johnny’s hand off her shoulder. “I’m done with letting people tell me what I can and can’t do.” She gave a final look around the room before turning her back on them and retreating from the common area.

Peter crossed his arms and looked at Kitty. “I can give you a million reasons why you can’t do this but I think you already know what they are. Kitty, I’m asking you as a friend do not do this.”

Kitty sighed and looked at Peter. “You’re right, I do know all the reasons why this is a bad idea.” She glanced down the hall Amanda had disappeared through. “I’ll go talk to her.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew...I know it’s been a while. It started with writers block and a busy year end. Then...I ended up sick for two weeks mid January. It was probably the dreaded C word. I kept trying to say it was just the flu but I have never had anything knock my on my tail like that. This is probably the first day I haven’t just been tired. 
> 
> All that said, let me know what you think of the latest installment!


	19. Chapter 19

Matt stepped off of the elevator and paused. This was not the same floor he had been on before. The layout was similar but he could sense subtle changes. The flooring was a different texture, the walls had been painted more recently. Doors were in slightly different places. Orienting himself, he could hear sounds coming from the right so he moved in that direction.

MJ looked up as a figure came into her line of sight. “You must be Matt Murdock.” She stood up and crossed the room. “I’m MJ. Peter called a few minutes ago. There’s an accident on the interstate so he’s running a little late.”

Matt nodded. “I wasn’t sure when my deposition would be over. He can just swing by my office when he’s free if it’s easier.” 

Jen lunged to her feet from where she had been sitting on the sofa. “No, you should just wait on him. He won’t be too much longer. Meanwhile you can tell us about the case. Have you already pulled previous cases to see if there’s a precedent for someone potentially under mind control? I did a search and I only found one or two and they weren’t much help. The defendants ended up in mental institutions.”

Matt cocked his head and took in girl who was now standing next to MJ. He knew the answer but he asked anyway. “And you are?”

“Jennifer Walters. I’m MJ’s roommate. I was with them in California when Ned attacked Peter because of the controller tech. I’m a pre-law student at Princeton. I finish up in the spring and then onto Columbia. If you need any help I have plenty of free time right now. We’re remote until mid January so I could pull cases, type up briefs, whatever.” Jen paused and took a breath realizing she had made her entire pitch in less than 30 seconds. Ever since MJ had told her what had happened with Ned and who his lawyer was, she had been planning the pitch in her head. Sure, an internship at one of the larger law firms would look good, but an internship with Matt Murdock would make make her stand out among a crowd of law students.

Matt smirked. Peter had warned him about Jennifer Walters when he had talked to him last night. Warn was probably too strong of a word, more like given him a heads up. His conversation with Peter had followed close on the heels of a conversation with Foggy about workload. They had managed since Karen had left but it was starting to become an issue, especially since Foggy was having to take most of the other cases solo. Building Ned’s defense was time consuming and complicated. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a business card, he extending it to her. “The office is in Hell’s Kitchen. Foggy gets in around 8am. He’ll be expecting you tomorrow morning.” The smirk turned into a smile when she took the card. He might not be able to see in the regular sense of the word but the excitement coming off of her was beyond intense. He wasn’t sure he was ever that young and naive. He turned to MJ. “Any idea how much longer Peter is going to be?”

MJ glanced down at her watch and tapped the face. “Ten minutes.”

XXXXXXXXXX

Peter stepped off the elevator. He had sent Bobby and Davis to the guest rooms on the lower floors. They had decided after the briefing it made way more sense for them to just come back to the city with him. It would save him a trip when they left for Boston in a couple days. Bobby was still a little shaky after having to go full vapor and didn’t want to portal anywhere right now if he could avoid it. Peter hated making anyone wait on him but the voices from the living room told him Matt was in good hands. “Matt, sorry you had to wait on me!”

Matt had heard Peter exit the elevator so he wasn’t surprised when he almost skidded out of the hall. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve gained an intern out of it so it was time well spent.” Matt stood up from where he was seated on the sofa across from MJ and Jen. “I just wanted to run some things by you before you left for Boston.”

MJ stood up and pulled Jen with her. “We’ll be downstairs with Bobby and Davis.” She knew there were things about Ned’s case that Peter wasn’t telling her. They had gotten to a place in their relationship that she knew that if there was something he wasn’t telling her he had a good reason not to. Usually it had to do with protecting other people and she knew he’d fill in the blanks eventually. “Matt, it was nice meeting you.”

Jen followed MJ. “I will see you tomorrow. Thank you again for the opportunity!”

Peter turned and watched them leave. When he heard the elevator doors close he turned back around. “I gave you a heads up so you could already have a defense in place. You’re letting her intern?”

Matt shrugged. “Free help is always good and Foggy researched her. She’s smart, tenacious, and it doesn’t hurt that she already knows about the controller tech in case I do need her to help me with research.”

Peter chuckled and shook his head. “So do we have a plan to lure out the real Hobgoblin?”

Matt frowned. “I have a plan to lure Kingsley out. You’re going to Boston.” He had put heavy emphasis on the word ‘I’. He smirked when Peter let out a little growl in response. “Peter, neither you nor Spider-Man needs to be involved with Kingsley going forward. I can handle it.”

Peter crossed his arms. He knew he couldn’t be involved he just hated it. “You know if you get caught it’s just as bad for Ned.”

“I have help. I’m not going to get caught. Do you want to hear the plan or not?” Matt rested his hands on his cane and waited for the affirmative answer he knew was coming.

Peter sucked in a breath. “Fine. How are you luring him out?”

Matt smiled. “The information we got from his office is inadmissible in court and even if it could be used a good lawyer would just say that they could be Ned’s files. What’s included in the files is enough information that we’ve been able to track down his list of buyers. We’re already using that information to put pressure on Kingsley to deliver...which means...”

“Which means he’ll have to risk going out as Hobgoblin again to steal money or supplies to finish the prototype.” Peter tapped his fingers on his still crossed arms. “Ok. That’s a good plan.” He ran through everything Matt would need to know if he was planning on taking on Hobgoblin again. “When you engage make sure you take out his gloves first. The projectiles will rip through your suit. An electrical charge to the chain mail will destabilize it unless he’s been able to coat it.”

Matt nodded. He appreciated the information. He’d make sure everyone involved knew where the weaknesses were. “Peter I’m telling you this so you won’t worry. With any luck by the time you’re back for winter break we’ll have Kingsley in custody.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Post COVID/flu, whatever it was - the exhaustion is unbelievable. I used to get up about 30 minutes before everyone else, have a cup of coffee and write. Well, that’s flown out the window for now. So, Saturday mornings is just about it for writing. This is going to go slow for a couple weeks so bear with me! As always FEEDBACK is good!


	20. Chapter 20

Peter read through the text from Matt again. He had gotten pretty good over the years reading between the lines of texts and emails. It sounded like Kingsley had exhausted all of his non-Hobgoblin options so Matt thought Hobgoblin would start making appearances again. It wasn’t enough just for Hobgoblin to be sighted again. Matt was going to have to take him down and somehow get a confession out of him that would clear Ned. It was a lot of heavy lifting and he wished he was there to help. Matt kept telling him he had plenty of help but it didn’t make Peter feel any better. The situation at Ravencroft wasn’t helping. Nat had managed to get inside as a nurse and Sam was undercover as a guard. At least they had people inside now but they still hadn’t gotten very far with Windsor.

He looked up as the door leading to the garage slammed open, followed by Wyatt who was clearly in a bad mood. “Problems?”

“I’m ready to go back to being remote. The tests were easier and I didn’t have to deal with protesters.” He tossed his backpack on the sofa and walked into the kitchen pulling open the refrigerator. Not finding anything of interest he pushed it shut a little too hard, rattling bottles inside.

Peter frowned. “What do you mean protestors?” He knew all of the anti-mutant sentiments hadn’t magically gone away after the UN had worked out a plan with Professor X but he didn’t think there were any large protests still going on.

“They’re all over campus. Not violent, just loud with signs.” Wyatt looked around the living room. “Where is everyone?”

Peter smiled. “The Odyssey. I drew the short straw to wait on you. If your done complaining about it we can go.”

Wyatt surged to his feet. “That is a great idea.”

XXXXXXXXXX

Davis looked up as Peter and Wyatt walked through the doors of the Odyssey. “It’s about time.”

Peter slid into the chair next to Davis. “Did we miss anything?”

Bobby shook his head. “No. Pretty uneventful so far. Just the normal run of the mill night out in a college town.”

Wyatt appeared a few minutes later and sat a lemonade in front of Peter and pulled the chair between Johnny and Bobby out to sit down. Setting his bottle down he rested his elbows on the table. Seeing the look he was getting from Peter and Davis he twisted the bottle around so they could see the label. “Root beer. I’m not stupid, there’s too much going on.”

Johnny looked up from his phone and turned to look at Wyatt. “In general or something specific?”

Wyatt took a sip before answering. “Protestors...again. Before it seems more spontaneous. Like it was just crowds that had gotten out of control. The ones today were more organized.” He shrugged, “They seemed peaceful so maybe it’s fine.”

Bobby shook his head. “None of this is fine.”

Exasperated, Wyatt turned to look at Bobby. “That’s not what I meant. I just meant they don’t seem to be bent on destroying property like some of the ones before.”

“When you say organized, what do you mean?” Davis leaned forward and looked at Wyatt. All of his classes had been earlier in the day and he hadn’t seen anything that resembled a protest.

“There was a large group over by Killian. There was definitely one guy leading them. By organized I mean signs and chants. There was another one by Hockfield. I saw a couple others while I was on the bus headed to the house. They all had the same signs.”

Peter frowned. “What did the signs say?” He wanted to kick himself for not paying more attention to what Wyatt was saying before but he had been more concerned with getting his friend out of his bad mood.

“I didn’t get close of enough to read a lot of it but they all had FOH on them and there was a lot of yelling about a full mutant registration.”

Johnny, phone already in hand, pulled up a browser. “FOH...Friends of Humanity. Well that just sounds ridiculous.” He frowned as he kept reading. “No names, just some kind of manifesto about how mutants aren’t human and the need to keep DNA pure.” He glanced up at Bobby who had paled significantly. “Which we all know is a load of crap.” He leaned forward and lowered his voice. “Bobby...I can set myself on fire. My DNA isn’t exactly human either.”

Davis smirked and threw one of the discarded paper footballs at Bobby. “With the exception of Wyatt we’re all in the same boat. Either be ok with it or go talk to a shrink until you are.”

Bobby picked up the paper football before relaxing into his chair. “I know, it just gets to me.” He glanced over at Johnny who was staring at his phone again. “Still reading?”

Johnny shook his head. “I’m trying Kitty now.”

Davis saw confusion on Peter and Wyatt’s faces. “He can’t get a hold of Amanda.”

“She was pretty pissed off last time you saw her.” Bobby took a sip of his drink. “It’s not surprising that she’s ghosting you.”

Peter frowned and was about to ask about Kitty when his Spidey sense triggered. His head popped up, eyes scanning the room. They landed on a group close to the door. 

Familiar with Peter’s reaction, the four boys followed suit. By the time their eyes landed on the group by the door, pushing and shoving had started. All five boys stood up. It was hard to tell who had started the fight but it was starting to turn into a much larger brawl.

By the time they reached the group, they could all hear what was being spewed from both sides. Yells of ‘mutant sympathizer’ came from one side, ‘racist’ coming from the other. All moving with the same goal in mind, they inserted themselves with the direct intention of separating the groups. Within moments they had the two groups pushed out onto the sidewalk. Peter recognized some of the people on both sides of the fight and to be honest he wasn’t surprised at all by who was on what side. A boy from his physics lab started to launch himself at one of the boys yelling ‘mutant lover’. Peter grabbed him and wrapped his arms around him to keep him in place. “Jacob, stop.”

The groups broke up when sirens could be heard in the distance. Jacob relaxed against the arms holding him in place. “Peter? Man, you’re stronger than you look!” He took a deep breath and added “I’m ok. I’m not going after them. You can let go.”

Peter released his hold and glanced around at the others. Most of the crowd had dispersed, leaving just a few of the participants, Peter’s team, and the owner on the sidewalk.

The owner looked at the five boys. “Thanks for getting them outside. Consider your tabs for the night paid.” He glanced back inside at the remaining customers standing in the doorway. “Closing in five minutes. Everyone pay up and get out.”

Jacob shook his head as the owner walked back inside. “I didn’t mean for it to get out of control. They just kept talking about how mutants should be locked up or worse and about how they’re a danger to humanity.” He scoffed. “How stupid can you be. Everyone has seen what’s out there. If aliens attack again I sure as hell want people with mutant powers on my side.”

Peter smiled in response to Jacob’s comment. It was nice to hear support from someone who had no idea who or what he was. “Getting arrested doesn’t do any one any good.” Police cars had pulled up to the curb and the officers were talking to the owner. Since all the police did was give them a half glance they figured the owner had vouched for them. “Jacob, do me a favor and head home. Don’t pick any fights and I’ll see you in physics tomorrow.” He waited until Jacob nodded and retreated down the street before looking at the other four. “Ready to head back?”

Wyatt sighed. “No but apparently that’s our only option.”

XXXXXXXXXX

Sam glanced up from his position in the alcove of the entrance door as a van pulled down the main drive. He was about to look back down at the clipboard in front of him to see who he should be expecting when the van didn’t turn left into the parking lot as expected. He studied the van and it’s occupants. It seemed like the same type Peter had reported seeing. Two guards in the front seat. He thought there were two individuals in the back but he could only partially see them. If he had to guess they were both female based on the length of their hair. Definitely longer than Bucky’s when he first met him. He watched the van disappear around the curve, only breaking his glance when another guard appeared. Inwardly cringing he looked fully at the man who had entered the alcove. Not his favorite individual. “I didn’t think we were expecting any prisoners today.”

The man frowned. “We’re not but what’s it if interest to you?”

Sam shrugged. “I just saw a transport van head towards the high security side.”

The man scowled. “Don’t worry about the high security side. Your job is this little alcove and checking off visitors. Got it?”

Sam nodded. He didn’t know how Nat did this on a regular basis. He hated undercover work. “Yes sir.” He paused for a moment. “It seems a shame to waste the high security side. It’d be nice to see it being used more. Maybe lock up some of those mutants everyone is talking about.”

The guard laughed. “Thomas, you just might be ok after all. Do your job right and maybe we’ll see about getting you something more exciting.”


	21. Chapter 21

Kitty startled awake in a panic. Eyes adjusting to the dim lighting she pushed herself up into a sitting position and glanced around. “Amanda?” Not getting a response she leaned forward to sit up. It was only then that she noticed the bandage on her arm. It was slightly larger than a regular bandaid and from its position she had the general idea that someone had drawn her blood. She pushed herself up from the cot and walked towards the bars in front of her. Glancing down the passageway running in front of her cell she started to worry they weren’t at Ravencroft. The row of cells seemed like something out of a gothic horror movie instead of a prison ward of a psychiatric hospital. “Amanda?” She heard rustling coming from the cell across from her and strained her eyes to see in the dim light. It wasn’t Amanda who appeared but a taller boy with shaggy brown hair. 

“Your friend isn’t here.”

Panic seeped through Kitty. She had known this was a terrible idea but Amanda had planned to go with or without her and there was no way she was letting her go on her own. She focused on the boy across from her. He looked to be a year or two older. “Where is she?”

The boy shrugged. “Probably getting her initial screening to find out what kind of mutant she is.”

Kitty frowned. At least maybe that meant they had been grabbed by the right people. “What’s your name?”

The boy paused for a moment. “Avalanche”

Kitty smiled. “I asked for your name not your alter ego.” The boy across from her acted very much like a wounded dog, not sure who he could trust. “I’m Kitty and with any luck we’re all getting out of here.”

The boy laughed. “No one gets out of here.” He studied the smaller girl across from him. Deciding that maybe he could trust her he shoved his hands into his pockets and looked down at the floor. “Lance.”

Kitty smiled again in response. “Nice to meet you Lance.” She glanced to her left and right, trying to gauge how many cells were in this hallway. “Any idea how many of us are down here?”

Lance shrugged, following her gaze at the cells in the hallway. “Maybe 20, but it’s not like they let us socialize.” He looked back at her and saw her doing something to the bars. “There’s something that interferes with our powers. I can’t tell if it’s something in the building or something they injected us with.”

“Or both.” Kitty frowned at her inability to pass her hand through the bars. They had anticipated this but the reality of the situation was setting in. She looked back over at Lance. “Ok, tell me what to expect.”

XXXXXXXXXX

Peter glanced across the dining room table at Johnny. “Still nothing?”

Johnny threw his phone down in frustration. “Nothing. If it were just Amanda I wouldn’t be as worried but Kitty isn’t answering any of us either. Bobby checked with Warren and Doug and they haven’t seen them in a couple days.”

Peter sighed and picked up his own phone. “They need to know.” He looked across the table at Johnny and waited for his nod in agreement before he hit Natasha’s name on his contact list. They had already had this conversation. The last update they had gotten put any kind of breech at least a week away. Sam and Nat had gotten closer and we’re getting better intel but they still didn’t have a way to safely breech Ravencroft and contain the prisoners. They had a pretty good idea where the captured mutants were being held but you’d have to breech the high security side to get to it. Until Sam or Nat could get inside the actual ward, Davis couldn’t even portal in safely because while they had a general idea, until they knew for sure, Davis would risk portaling into solid rock.

Natasha picked up on the second ring. “Peter, you’ve got about three minutes before I have to report for my shift.” She took her foot off the gas to slow down as her car traveled the long road leading to Ravencroft.

“I know. We think Amanda and Kitty got grabbed. Have you or Sam seen anything?”

Natasha frowned. It was no secret that Amanda had wanted to go in as bait. She though Kitty had been able to talk her out of it. “Maybe. Sam saw two females being taken in a couple days ago. He couldn’t get close enough to ID them.”

“Nat, we have to go in. We can come up with a plan to contain the high security prisoners.” Peter looked across the table at Johnny. They both knew the answer because it was the same answer they got every time they asked the question.

“Peter, we all want to go in but the amount of firepower it would take would just prove to the world that all of us - Mutants and Avengers - need to be contained.” Natasha paused. She knew where Peter’s head was and what they would try to do. “As soon as Sam or I can get into the actual ward where they’re being held we can get Davis to portal us in directly and bypass the high security ward. We think it’s in the original mansions’ subsurface area.” She stopped short of calling it a dungeon but that was exactly what it was. “We have not found any plans. Until Sam or I can actually get in there, Davis cannot portal in.”

Peter started to protest and lay out his plan but Natasha cut him off. “Peter, I’ve got to go. Wait until we get the intel. Two days tops.”

Peter sighed. “Yes ma’am.” He heard the phone disconnect and thought through his next call. Hitting another contact he waited for MJ to pick up. “I’ve got a research project for you.”

XXXXXXXXXX

Natasha grimaced as she pushed through the doors to the low security ward. She had spent the last week on the high security side. She had figured out where the access point to the sub levels were from the inside and she knew what she needed to do to get inside. It was doable and she knew she could get in and out without getting caught. All they needed were measurements so Davis wouldn’t portal into a block of stone. But, a nurse on the low security side had called in sick, they were short handed, and she didn’t have an option. 

She and Sam had managed so far to avoid the low security side. Ned was a liability. It was possible he would just assume he was seeing things. Probably not good for his mental health but out of the other two options it was still the best one. The alternatives that Natasha could see was that he’d expose them or end up in the middle of things. Given his history with Peter, she thought the last one was more likely. 

She picked up the charts she had been assigned and flipped through them. Pausing on the second to last one she considered her options. Maybe there was a fourth alternative. She pulled the chart to the top and made her way down the hall and pushed open the door.

Ned looked over at the door from the chair he was sitting in. The red hair he had seen in so many styles and in so many shades over the years was pulled back in a simple ponytail. He was fairly confident in the fact that he wasn’t imagining that Black Widow had just walked into his room. He frowned slightly, ‘fairly’ was too generous...maybe more like 82% confident. 

“Ned...let’s talk.”

XXXXXXXXXX

MJ walked up the stairs of the New York Public Library, the lions flanking the steps had greeted her as a long lost friend. It had been a couple years since she had spent a day parked at one of the library’s reading rooms, probably longer since she had spent time researching the old fashioned way. What Peter was asking for wasn’t impossible, it would just take some time and she knew they really didn’t have it. But, in order to ensure no one knew what they were looking for they couldn’t just ask Karen or FRIDAY. Besides, she felt like Tony had probably already had FRIDAY pull everything that was available online. If it existed, it would be in hard copy format. 

When she finally came across the series of pictures, she realized she had missed lunch and dinner, but in front of here were twenty or so pictures of the original Ravencroft mansion. In 1899, Dr. Jonas Ravencroft had made the decision to turn his family home into a psychiatric facility. The pictures were from an inspection the state had done when granting the license to the Ravencroft Institute. She walked the pictures over the desk to ask for copies. She had thought about taking Jen’s phone with her when she left this morning but had opted not to. Karen had access to her phone which meant so did FRIDAY. Karen was pretty good about respecting their privacy but if it was something she thought put MJ in harms way she had directives from Tony and Peter to report it. Ravencroft was probably on that list right now.


	22. Chapter 22

Peter leaned on the dining room table and looked at the notebook Wyatt was making notes in. Johnny was pacing behind him, periodically glancing over Wyatt’s shoulder.

“You’re not going to make this go any faster.” Wyatt didn’t glance up when he made the comment as he smirked at their impatience. “Bobby, grab the pad of graph paper and my ruler out of my backpack.”

Bobby walked over to where they had all tossed equipment upon portalling into the unfamiliar apartment. Retrieving the items, he returned to the table and sat down next to MJ and pushed them across the table to Wyatt. “Need any help?”

“No. I need you all to stop staring at me.” He looked up and grabbed the ruler, glancing around the room before looking back down at a group of pictures. “I’m having to take pictures from 1899 and recreate a floor plan so we don’t portal into something that kills us instantly.” He measured one of the stone blocks making up a wall and made a note on his pad of paper. “Who knew I’d use a random interest in architecture to plan an op.”

Johnny laughed. “Your random interest in architecture was an attempt to satisfy your father’s desire for you to get more involved with the tribe.” He looked over at Peter when Wyatt growled at the comment. “He phrased it along the lines of improving structural design while keeping with the tribe’s old ways. It was short lived.”

“I don’t understand how Davis can portal into Ned’s apartment safely but not the secret underground dungeon at Ravencroft.” Bobby leaned back and looked around the room.

Davis had been looking out the window at the city below. “Because apartments are easy. Not only can you usually find a floor plan online but you know there’s an open room. Even if I misjudge slightly the portal adjusts itself to avoid say a small tree or a wall...they’re just not that thick. The foundation wall of Ravencroft are at least couple feet thick - most things built back then we’re because you didn’t have a steel infrastructure. Plus we have no idea what the layout is. It would be nice not to portal into a locked cell.” 

“Davis is correct.” Wyatt looked up from one of the pictures. “The pictures of the exterior give us the original size of the house and we can see where it was expanded over the years. The low security side was originally the family living quarters. The high security side was Ravencroft’s research area. Both have been expanded. Until MJ found the pictures we would have assumed the dungeon area was below the right wing. It’s not. He converted the root cellar under the kitchen to create the holding cells for the psychiatric patients. It only extends halfway under the both wings.” He glanced around the room. “We definitely would have portalled into dirt or rock if we had gone in blind.” He looked up at Peter. “Give me some breathing room to finish this. Go figure out what we’re going to do once we portal in.”

Peter pushed back from the table and nodded to the three boys to join him. He glanced back at the table when he heard MJ feeding Wyatt information about typical block sizes and cornerstone dimensions. He had mixed feelings about MJ being this close to an active operation. Usually she was very much on the outside looking in. Pushing it to the back of his mind, he looked back at Bobby, Davis, and Johnny. “The goal is to free everyone they have locked up. I think we then portal back to the compound and grab reinforcements to take down Windsor.”

Johnny nodded. “Agreed. We can get in and back out easier with just the five of us. When we get to the compound we’ll have actionable intel and can move as a larger team with more fire power.” Shrugging, he added, “and if we get caught MJ can just give Tony the information he needs to get in.”

Bobby and Davis nodded in agreement. Bobby looked over at Peter. “What are you doing about a suit? You left your watch in Boston so your dad wouldn’t know you were in New York. It’s not like you can go to the tower and make another one. FRIDAY would definitely rat you out.”

“I have an idea, I just need to run an errand. Can you all hold down the fort?” He looked over at the clock on the wall. “It’s 10pm now. If Wyatt’s done with his calcs I say we aim for maybe 1am to go in? It’ll give the night guard shift just enough time to get bored.”

The boys nodded in agreement. Peter walked over to MJ and kissed her on the cheek. “I have to run an errand.”

MJ looked over at him. “Need any help?”

Pete shook his head. “No. See what you can do to speed up Wyatt.”

“Ha Ha. I’ll be done by the time you get back.” Wyatt didn’t look up from the graph paper he was drawing on.

XXXXXXXXXX

Peter stepped onto the subway platform and made his way to the street level. Part of him was a little astonished that apparently Nat had rubbed off on him over the years. He had left his watch in Boston and they had all piled in Johnny’s SUV to make the trip to New York so that took care of the trackers his dad had on him. Wyatt and Davis had left their issued gear in Boston as well. Black pants and shirts were going to have to suffice for gear. All of their Kevlar had not only trackers but biometric scanners. It was a risk but they thought they could protect them. Bobby was Davis’s protection and Johnny was Wyatt’s. Pulling his baseball cap further down and making sure the hood from his sweatshirt was still shadowing most of his face, he headed down the street, making a beeline for a specific Brooklyn apartment. 

Arriving at the building, he found a shadowy side and adjusting the backpack on his back, he scampered up. Arriving at the right floor and window, he landed quietly on the fire escape and tapped gently on the window. 

Miles appeared in the window seconds later and pushed the window open. “I heard you coming up the side.”

Peter frowned. “Heartbeat or movement?”

“Heartbeat.” Miles took in the fact that Peter was dressed in street clothes and not a spider suit. “What’s up?”

“I need your suit.”

Miles laughed then sobered up. “You’re serious.” He pulled back from the window and reappeared a few moments later, suit in hand. Passing it through the window he locked eyes with Peter. “You’re not taking it from me, right?”

Peter shook his head. “I need one that can’t be tracked. You have a tracker but it only gets activated if you send out an SOS.”

Miles frowned. “What are you doing? Is it Hobgoblin related? I overheard dad saying that one of the patrol cars thought they saw him the other night.”

Peter paused for a moment. That was new information. He needed to check in with Matt and make sure everything was still going according to plan. He shook his head. “No, that’s being handled. This is an off book op. If we get in trouble MJ knows where we’re going and can call in backup.”

Miles nodded. “Be careful. Tell MJ I can help if she needs it.” He trusted that Peter knew what he was doing. “Hey Peter...do you think the anti-mutant stuff will die down? I know we’re not mutants but I feel like one most of the time. The couple times I’ve been out since all of this started I haven’t exactly gotten the same reception I used to get.”

Peter smiled. “I know what you mean. I think it will”. He kept the rest of what he was thinking to himself. He wondered how much they would have to sacrifice to get back to the status quo.

Miles nodded, relieved that Peter thought it would be ok. “Be careful.”

Peter gave Miles a final nod and made his way up to the roof to change. Street clothes stowed in the backpack, he adjusted the suit before pulling the mask down. The benefit to Miles suit was that it was all black except for the crimson spider on the front. It was definitely more low key than most of Peter’s own suits. There was a HUD but it wasn’t connected to an AI which meant that Peter was only reliant on himself. By the time he had made it back across the channel and into Manhattan he had decided he needed a low tech suit. He missed only depending on himself. He paused for a moment before heading into Hell’s Kitchen. He still had time, he might as well see if he could find Daredevil and see if they were making any progress.

XXXXXXXXXX

Matt turned his head slightly as his ears picked up a familiar heartbeat. He turned back to Danny, “Give me a minute but if you see him go.” Knowing that Danny would follow his orders, and more importantly knowing that Luke was on the street below, he turned and walked to the other side of the roof. Shielded from Danny’s line of sight by mechanical equipment, he waited for Peter to land in front of him. “Thought you weren’t in town? And that’s not your normal suit.”

Peter ignored the questions. “I heard a police cruiser spotted Hobgoblin the other night.”

“We’ve seen him. The plan is still the same. And yes, I have help.” Matt paused for a minute and listened to what Peter wasn’t telling him. “What are you planning? I have the distinct impression that I’m a side trip.”

Peter shook his head. “The less you know the better. I just wanted to make sure you had this under control.”

“It’s under control.” Matt paused for a moment. There was something about Peter that screamed ‘I’m about to do something stupid. He wasn’t sure what it was, but it was there. “Don’t get yourself killed...or worse.”

Peter chuckled. “You too. Let me know how it goes.”

Matt nodded and watched Peter flip off the roof and swing north and out of Hell’s Kitchen. The kid was definitely on his way to do something stupid.


	23. Chapter 23

Bobby and Davis exited the portal, shielding Peter, Wyatt, and Davis. They had known they would probably portal into a room that wasn’t empty. They weren’t wrong. The guards in the room were quick to react but the five boys were quicker. 

Peter finished securing the last unconscious guard with webs and glanced around at their options. “We need to move fast. That wasn’t exactly quiet.” 

Johnny nodded and flamed off before heading down the hall towards what they hoped were the cells. He could bring the flames back up quicker than a bullet could hit him so they had opted for covert, hoping to take any guards they might run into by surprise. 

Peter decided quickly as they made their way down the narrow hallway that he hated being stuck behind Johnny so he scampered up the wall and crawled along the ceiling. He could see an opening ahead. If their makeshift floor plan was right, they should be coming up on a larger room that lead to a row of cells. 

Johnny paused in the shadows of the hallway and peered into the room. Glancing up at Peter he saw him hold up six fingers. Nodding in agreement of the count of guards in the room he glanced back to make sure the other three were ready. Getting nods from all of them he flamed up as the same time Peter flipped into the room. 

It was apparent as they entered the room that the guards had definitely heard something before. Two of them had been studying monitors trying to determine if there was a problem with the prisoners. Peter landed taser webs on both of them as they turned to looked at the commotion behind them. He spun around to find another target as Wyatt knocked the last guard down. Peter smirked to himself. The guards didn’t stand a chance against the five of them. He finished securing the guards and nodded to Bobby to head toward the cells.

Still in ice form, Bobby walked down the short hall, glancing briefly at the opening on the other end. He smiled to himself as he saw a series of cells lining the walls. Pausing, he did a quick scan and saw the familiar ponytail. “Shadowcat...you’re grounded.” He heard Peter breaking locks on cells behind him and moved towards Kitty’s cell.

“That’s cute Iceman, get me out of here.” Kitty crossed her arms trying to maintain a tough exterior but she could have cried at relief that they were there. She pushed the cell door open after Bobby iced the lock and shattered it with his fist. 

Flames glowing, Johnny turned from the bars he melted to free the boy across from Kitty. “Where’s Amanda?”

Kitty shook her head. “I haven’t seen her since I’ve been down here.” She looked over at Lance. “Are there more cells?”

Lance shook his head as a smaller boy walked up next to him. He had known Mort was a few cells down from him but it was a relief to see him in person. He hadn’t had many friends in his life so the thought of losing Mort made him angrier than the the fact that he has been locked up. “Windsor must still be experimenting on her.” He noticed the flames on the guy on fire grow brighter.

Peter walked over to the Kitty and looked at the cell. “You couldn’t get through that?”

Kitty shook her head. “Our powers are suppressed.”

Wyatt reached over and pulled her arm straight. Looking at the bandage a moment he pulled it off, ignoring Kitty as she pulled her arm away and rubbed the raw skin. “Ok...first rule of being captured...remove anything that wasn’t on you when you came in.” He handed the bandage to Peter. “It’s like a cortisone patch. Best guess is that it’s slow releasing a chemical suppressant.”

Lance looked down at his own arm and ripped the bandage off. How could they have all been so stupid. Within seconds his head felt less foggy. He stretched his arms out, a slight tremor rumbled under his feet. He wasn’t at full power but it was something.

Peter felt the tremor and turned to look at the taller boy. “Whatever you just did, don’t...this place is over 100 years old. You’ll collapse it on top of us.” He turned to look at Davis. “Portal back to the compound. Johnny, Bobby, and I will stay and look for Amanda.”

Davis grinned as he opened a portal. “You just don’t want to deal with Iron Man.”

Peter chuckled as he watched Wyatt lead the remaining prisoners into the portal. “You are not wrong.” He spun around as his Spidey sense triggered. A group of men appeared in the opening at the other end. Bobby threw up an ice wall as one of the men threw something that exploded in front of it, shattering the ice into millions of pieces. Peter could hear Davis pushing people into the portal behind them. He caught sight of another object being thrown towards them, this time hitting the ceiling. It exploded before Bobby could put enough ice around it to dampen the blast. Stone from the ceiling fell to the ground cutting Johnny, Bobby, Peter, and Kitty off from the portal.

Lance growled as Kitty disappeared from view. Extending his hands, he started to break up the rocks, only to have more fall from the ceiling. 

Davis pushed him around and into the portal. This was the plan. Regardless of what happened, getting the prisoners back to the compound was the first priority. He closed the portal behind him, leaving more stone falling in his wake.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kitty stumbled back into the cell, out of the path of debris. Glancing over at Bobby, she nodded to him and jumped up to the cot. She could tell without testing them that her powers were almost at full force. Springing from the cot, she phased through the ceiling. She knew Bobby would know what she was doing. In all of the training they had done at the mansion, one of the things Professor X and Logan had pounded into them was to realize your limitations and use your abilities to your advantage. She was no good in a firefight. All she could do was phase through explosions and bullets. She was actually pretty good at hand to hand combat but that’s not what Johnny, Peter, and Bobby were doing and she was in the way. The best thing she could do was to remove herself from the situation so she wasn’t a liability to them. 

She landed in a crouch on the floor and looked around, thankful she had phased into an empty room. Getting out was the objective. Fully powered, she could evade easily. She moved into the hall quietly. A guard rounded the corner, taking her by surprise. She phased through the wall next to her and could hear the commotion on the other side as the guard called for backup. Deciding the new goal was to put as much distance between herself and the guard she ran, phasing through walls as she went. She lost count of the rooms and hallways she phased through until she found herself in an area that felt completely different. It was a little brighter and just had a different vibe. She could see a couple nurses waking down the hall so she phased through the wall next to her.

“Kitty?”

Kitty spun around and frowned. “Ned?” She had met Peter’s friend a couple times before. Pieces started clicking into place. She had heard something about Ned being arrested. “I’m in the low security ward.”

Ned nodded. “Did you escape?” He saw the continued look of confusion on her face. “In an astonishing turn of events Natasha actually told me what was going on. She and Sam are here undercover trying to get into the area where you were being kept. I think she thought maybe if she brought me into the loop I wouldn’t blow her cover by accident or do something that would jeopardize the mission.” Ned had plenty of time to think through what Natasha had done and she really didn’t have an option. He also knew she psychologically manipulated people...which he was completely ok with. Not everyone could say that Black Widow manipulated them into doing what she wanted, although he thought that number was actually really high.

“Nat and Sam are here?” Kitty thought through her options. Peter, Bobby, and Johnny were good but they could probably use the help. “Where?”

Before Ned could answer, his door pushed open. “Ned...ready for your session?” Dr. Russel paused at the door and took in the occupants of the room. Ned she expected. The girl who looked a little worse for wear she did not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On a somewhat Spider-Man related note...I saw Chaos Walking last night (Tom Holland is in it)...it was better than I anticipated. With all of the rewrites and delays I thought it might end up being a disaster of a movie. It was actually really enjoyable.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are always appreciated. Unlike the others, this story is NOT already written so posting may be a little sporadic (although unless I hit a case of writers block it’s at least every day or two). Did I mention comments are appreciated? You have no idea how encouraging it is when you’re writing...


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